#original sentence was ‘when we go out in public’ not ‘exist’ until i remembered how often they kill us in our homes and vehicles too💕

[laniusbignaturals]

The fact that TERFs and their ilk could ever interpret the decision made by trans men to identify how they wish as some kind of tragic manifestation of internalized misogyny/the need to “escape” womanhood is an excellent example of the airtight privilege they as a group are clinging to because any black brown or otherwise Not Adequately White & Western woman could tell them how much greater the risk is of getting beaten and murdered if we choose to exist without a fresh set of nails and a silk press

[ilikekidsshows]

how much do you think Adrien and Marinette's relationship developed from season 1 to 3 ?

Very well, as a self-professed connoisseur of all things slowburn, let me go over the Adrinette development that has happened in the show up until the season three finale and educate this fandom on the subtle beauty that is the Adrinette arc. This is gonna be long, because, apparently, there's a lot of material to cover, because this relationship can fit so much development into it.

Let's go in chronological order (as far as I can tell). In 'Origins', Marinette first started becoming a stuttering mess around Adrien when he opened up to her about how he wanted to make friends, becoming infatuated with the sensitive side he showed. Meanwhile, Adrien is excited over the prospect of having made a friend.

In 'The Bubbler', Marinette only manages to get out an awkward "hey," at Adrien and Adrien mimics her, in lack of a better response. He barely seems to know her at this point.

Marinette begins her infatuation with Adrien by simply thinking about him and fantasizing about him. In 'Stormy Weather' we hear Marinette's daydream, fully fleshed out on the details of what their children should be named, but not sure what their pet should be. Adrien seems pleased to see Marinette, but doesn't seek her out, also maintaining some distance.

Then comes 'Mr. Pigeon'. Adrien finds out Marinette is into designing and is taken aback by her verbal floundering. He also didn't know Marinette's last name. When he introduces Marinette to his father, there's an awkward silence after, like he'd finished the sentence too early, because he did, he never said her last name. Adrien knew Marinette existed, and was interested to know more about her, but that's it. Meanwhile Marinette speaks complete nonsense to Adrien, unable to remember what words even are.

In 'Evillustrator' Adrien seeks Marinette out of his own volition, having the perfect conversation starter in her encounter with Cat Noir. He wants to know what she thinks of him. Meanwhile, Marinette manages to get full, coherent sentences out, but keeps saying contradicting things. Adrien responds to Marinette with a drawn out "okay," starting to learn to just go with it and, at the end of the interaction, pats Marinette's shoulder companionably as he leaves. He thinks they're familiar enough for him to touch her casually, he was just waiting for the chance because he’s so touch-starved.

'Horrificator' doesn't actually show Adrien and Marinette interacting directly outside the acting scenes, where Adrien is very receptive to having Marinette as his co-star, but Adrien gets to see Marinette at her best, helping people out and solving problems. This episode is where Adrien starts to form his opinion of Marinette as someone dependable.

In 'Animan', Adrien knows Nino likes Marinette and is fully supportive. He's convinced Marinette would be receptive to Nino just acting natural and not doing anything special, so he thinks Marinette is a kind and warm person. He has no reason to think Marinette is into him instead. Marinette fumbles around Adrien again, and this time Adrien doesn't react at all: he's used to it.

In 'Kung Food', Adrien rushed to help Marinette the instant he heard from Alya that Marinette needed help. Marinette manages to get her meaning across even as she fumbles. When they have a discussion about Marinette's uncle, Marinette doesn't stutter once, and Adrien holds Marinette's shoulders when he comforts her. They managed to keep to casual interactions during the episode because they have other things to focus on.

In 'Gamer', Adrien is very casual around Marinette, inviting himself over to practise the game and being pretty frank about his insecurity as Marinette's gaming partner. Marinette responds first in a way that devalues Adrien's feelings ("No, you're amazing, I'm bad"), but eventually gives Adrien the lucky charm as a gesture of accepting him as her partner, a gesture Adrien will treasure for several episodes to come. Also, this episode has more casual shoulder-touching from Adrien to Marinette. (Aside note: Cat Noir later mimics Tom's body language in the episode, so Marinette's parents really made a first impression that stuck.)

In 'Volpina', Marinette shields Adrien from Fu's suspicions, but does briefly entertain the thought that Adrien might be Hawk Moth. This could be part of her catastrophizing or realizing she doesn't know him well enough to know for sure. Marinette also saves Adrien from his father, for Adrien's sake, not even revealing her own involvement in the matter to get closer to him. Marinette just wanted to help him out.

'Despair Bear' has Adrien protect Marinette from making a scene and making herself look bad, something he'll do again later in 'Chameleon'. Adrien sees it as his place to interfere for Marinette's benefit in this way and he thinks about the possible repercussions Marinette might have gotten from accusing Chloé publically without evidence. Adrien also instantly gets the idea to ask Marinette to dance when she bumps into him and decides to just roll with him when Alya arranges them into the typical "slow dance" position. At the end of the episode we see the first instance of Adrien invading Marinette's personal space by leaning in to talk to her. All in all, Adrien is just very comfortable around Marinette in this episode.

'Gigantitan' is more about Marinette learning not to overthink, something she didn't entirely learn as she prefers to abort the entire mission rather than enter a scenario with Adrien she hadn't considered. But we see Adrien offering Marinette a ride home even when his bodyguard is impatient. He really wants to do a favor for her.

'Riposte' has the second attempt from Marinette to simply spend time with Adrien, after 'Gamer'. She went into a lot of effort to learn fencing on time for the try-outs. She accidentally compliments Adrien to his face, who is very grateful for the nice things Marinette said about him. Caught off guard, Marinette fumbles once more, but manages to recover. Adrien laughs in enjoyment of the occasion and Marinette shares the laugh. Adrien keeps showing how comfortable he is with touching Marinette when he tutors her. Meanwhile, Marinette is very flustered, but manages to focus on what she's doing, doing well enough for Adrien to notice.

Adrien also questions Marinette's call as the referee, not concerned with Marinette's possible negative reaction and Marinette does respond honestly, showing Adrien that he can trust her judgement. Adrien also gushes about Marinette to Kagami, when he insists that Marinette didn't deny her the point to be mean, and the affection in his glowing endorsement has Kagami immediately note that Adrien likes her a lot.

In 'Befana' Adrien admits that he always carries Marinette's lucky charm with him, which inspired him to make one for her as a gift. The episode even ends with him looking at his own charm fondly, as the narration brings up "the person giving (the gift)", signalling that Adrien is specifically thinking about Marinette, who gave him the charm.

When Adrien asks Marinette for a safe place to hide in 'Gorizilla', Marinette gets over her stuttering very quickly when she realizes Adrien is in trouble to help him. Even in the subway Marinette is able to focus on Adrien possibly getting into trouble at home instead of getting flustered again. Adrien sidesteps the concern by playing the situation down, reminding Marinette that he does, indeed, always carry the lucky charm he got from her with him. At the movies he's more upfront to her about the restrictions he's placed under and why the movie is so important to him. Also, at no point does he point out Marinette is in her PJs, even though he definitely noticed. He probably just thinks it's a Marinette Thing.

'Frozer' has Marinette go all out for Adrien's sake, not because she wants to be with him, but because she wants to see him happy. She gives him advice on how to pursue another girl and asks Luka out on a double date to be there for him. On this occasion Marinette also shows how she's not as selfish over Adrien here as she was back in 'Gamer', when she was very willing to rob Max of something he really wanted in order to spend more time with Adrien. Meanwhile, Adrien gets distracted from his actual date when he wants to make sure Marinette is okay. When Plagg accuses him of "going after Marinette", Adrien is surprised by the suggestion, and assured Plagg that Marinette is just a friend.

An interesting thing to note is that Adrien actually sounds uncertain in 'Frozer' when he calls Marinette a friend, the one time he does so (at least in the English dub). This is why, when Marinette asks him to go skating with her sometime, he does entertain the thought of it just being just the two of them (aka, a date). However, when Marinette assures him it would be a friendly outing with other people too, the moment passes, and Adrien forgets his doubts and agrees to a friend outing. Plagg put the idea in his head, and Marinette could have sealed the deal. This is another occasion where Adrien pats Marinette's shoulder.

'Troublemaker' is the episode where Marinette's self-sabotage really gets going, when she "reassures" Adrien that she'd never consider him attractive in a romantic way ever. Meanwhile, Adrien once again invades Marinette's personal space and implies he doesn't mind modeling if it's for Marinette as he invites her to a photoshoot and says he's glad to have her as one of his fans.

In 'Style Queen', Marinette is actually open with Adrien about her insecurities and Adrien reassures her, and he supports her in 'Queen Wasp'. He also says he'd be able to model for her if she made it in the business, repeating his desire to model for her specifically that he first stated in 'Troublemaker'.

In 'Reverser' Marinette panics when suddenly encountered with Adrien and having to explain what she's doing, but Adrien gets the gist of it, having learned to interpret most of the word vomit Marinette produces and astutely claims: "That's typical of you," about Marinette helping someone out and offers his assistance if she needs any.

In 'Maledictator', Adrien is brave enough to let Marinette know he disagreed with the reason she and everybody else was happy. He doesn't pretend to be fine with the "good riddance, Chloé '' party because, just as Adrien knew, Marinette doesn't judge him for being sad to see Chloé leave.

In 'Heroes' Day', Adrien admits he came to the picnic to tell Marinette just how highly he values her. He shows how much attention he pays to all the times Marinette has helped their classmates and gives the iconic line "You're our everyday Ladybug". Marinette manages to gather up her courage to kiss Adrien on the cheek in response. This is also a notable moment when Adrien opts out of the usual shoulder pat, implying the gesture is something Adrien does to cut away the physical distance between himself and Marinette, since such a thing wasn't necessary in 'Heroes' Day'. (This boy is touch-starved, guys!)

In 'Chameleon' Adrien starts trying to play mediator between Lila and Marinette but, when that didn't work out, he once again protects Marinette from making a bad call with an opponent out to wreck her reputation, but he also acknowledges that Marinette had been wronged and decided to personally support her by sitting next to her since she'd been having such a tough time that day. He just wanted to support her like a friend would.

'Backwarder' has Marinette try to take the easy route of confessing through a letter, which predictably ends up not going as planned. But, as Adrien said, he spent all weekend making sure he could help Marinette with something he thought she really needed help with. Adrien just really wants to be able to do things for Marinette.

'Weredad' gives us an interesting glimpse into how Adrien views Marinette in relation to romance, noting that he "didn't think Cat Noir was her type". He's most likely referring to Luka, since he's the only guy Adrien has seen Marinette with, and Luka is quiet, contained and thoughtful, nothing like how Adrien presents himself as Cat Noir. However, since Adrien doesn't consider himself a candidate, he does most likely consider himself more like Cat Noir than Luka, aka, not Marinette's type.

'Desperada' has one of Marinette's worst freakouts in a while. Adrien showed up suddenly, and Kagami challenged her directly by saying: "Are you here to watch your boyfriend practise?" Marinette also tries to shoehorn Adrien into every situation, be it a guitarist or superhero, possibly as a subconscious attempt to gain more control of the situation with Kagami. As Tikki said, Marinette has a troubled heart in this episode.

'Chrismaster' shows off the fact that Marinette has tons of presents prepared for Adrien in advance for different occasions. These were most likely prepared during the early stages of her infatuation, when she was admiring him from afar and fantasizing about him. Making presents "just in case" fits the fantasy model. At this point, she’s embarrassed over having done it.

In 'Startrain', Adrien immediately relaxes into sleep as well when Marinette falls asleep on his shoulder. This boy is touch-starved, guys, and Marinette's touch in particular calms and soothes him. Similarly, when Marinette wakes up in the middle of their nap, she settles right back to continue sleeping, no panic in sight.

'Stormy Weather 2' shows Adrien connecting Marinette's handwriting from the note on his homework with the valentine he got, and all of the misunderstandings together convince him he was mistaken. "She's just a friend who loves fashion," Adrien says with a downtrodden face, disappointed that Marinette couldn't care for him as more than "a friend who's also in fashion". He thinks of Marinette insisting that she'd never be into him, and of Marinette and Luka skating together, with obvious chemistry between them. And, in the end, when he says it's just someone with similar writing, he sounds wistful.

'Party Crasher' has Adrien insist Marinette is one of his guys, clearly missing her when he's hanging out with his school friends. In fact, when she does show up unexpectedly, he looks very pleased.

'Puppeteer 2' is an episode that sets up obstacles for Adrinette in addition to the misunderstandings listed in ‘Stormy Weather 2’. Marinette finds out Adrien is in love with someone else, and Adrien tries to share more parts of himself with Marinette, only for it to end very badly. Adrien has been getting braver about expressing himself to Marinette, but it's mostly been his opinions so far. In 'Puppeteer 2' Adrien tries to joke around with Marinette, only for Marinette to end up mortified and crying. This convinced Adrien that there's a part of him that Marinette won't be able to accept so he'll have to hold back with her.

Meanwhile, Marinette overcorrects because Manon, as kids are wont to do, keeps airing out all of her dirty laundry regarding Adrien, and so she convinces Adrien he's lucky she even kinda likes him. Adrien connects this with the fact that apparently his sense of humor is something that Marinette hates enough to cry over it.

The rest of season 3 stays on the course set by ‘Puppeteer 2’. Adrien still cares about Marinette immensely, even if he's convinced she doesn't like him nearly as much. He puts himself on the line to protect her from Lila in 'Ladybug', and neither he nor Kagami consider Marinette's presence on their outing third-wheeling in 'Heart Hunter'. Meanwhile, Marinette is pulling away, convinced Adrien and Kagami are the perfect match.

There you go, that's the Adrinette development, broken down step by step, during the first three seasons. As you can see, it's actually quite a lot, and some people might even notice more development tidbits.

[thebiscuiteternal]

“Paper Scraps”

Post-Canon, Angst, Hurt/Comfort...ish?, Reconciliation, Discussion of Suicidal Ideation, Ghosts, Implied Sangyu, Mo Xuanyu Gets To Be Mourned, Wei Wuxian and Nie Huaisang Are Going Through It

Series Link on Ao3

__________

"To what do I owe the surprise visit?'' Nie Huaisang asks, and his voice is so devoid of emotion that Wei Wuxian has to bite back a shudder, suddenly very much aware that he is treading in completely new and potentially dangerous territory.

Nie-xiong is as dead as his beloved elder brother, and the Headshaker was nothing more than a mask. All that's left now is Nie-zongzhu, whom he knows nothing about and threatened the last time they actually spoke to each other in person.

Still, he sucks up his nerve and plasters on one of his usual careless smiles. "We need to talk, you and I. Just you and I."

"Wei Ying-"

He holds up a hand to cut off Lan Zhan's protest. "How about it?"

"And what, exactly, do you think there is for us to discuss, Wei-xiansheng? Have I not been behaving well enough for your liking?"

Ouch.

"Okay, I deserved that," Wei Wuxian says as he waves off his defensive husband and friend a second time, suddenly wishing he'd just snuck out and come alone.

Then again, that probably wouldn't have gone well either, judging by the wary looks he keeps getting from the handful of Nie disciples who linger defensively near their sect leader.

Okay... okay. No more trying to joke around. He takes a deep breath and lets it out, then straightens his back. "I'm here about Mo Xuanyu."

Nie Huaisang’s face betrays nothing, but the fan in his hand snaps shut with enough force that it's audible throughout the room. “Everyone, please escort our other two guests to the main gardens so that we may speak privately.”

“Zongzhu-” one massive bear of a man starts to protest.

At the same time Lan Zhan moves in front of Wei Wuxian to growl “We are not going anywhere,” and the tension in the room ratchets sharply to hair-on-end levels as the situation threatens to turn into a standoff.

Wei Wuxian pinches the bridge of his nose to stave off a building headache, then reaches out in an attempt to tug his husband back. “Lan Zhan. I’m the one who requested a one-on-one meeting, remember? Literally just now?”

“He cannot be truste-”

“Wei-gongzi, he might-”

“Enough,” Nie Huaisang snaps, the unexpected whip-crack of his voice making them all, a few disciples included, jump. “Let me remind all three of you that you came here and none of you are required to stay. In fact, today would be much improved if you didn’t.”

“Lan Zhan.” Wei Wuxian hisses.

Lan Zhan doesn’t budge, hand still tight on the hilt of Bichen. “If you harm Wei Ying-”

“Yes, yes, you and the Ghost General will cut me open and hang me with my own entrails just to start with,” Nie Huaisang replies irritably, giving a dismissive wave of the closed fan. “I’m well aware.”

Judging by the startled and utterly appalled looks that cross Lan Zhan and Wen Ning’s faces, that had decidedly not been on the list of options of what they might potentially do. But the descriptive suggestion does work to knock them off guard, and Wei Wuxian bites his tongue hard to keep his expression neutral as the two of them are herded out without any more fuss after Nie Huaisang makes a short gesture to his disciples. “You did that on purpose.”

Nie Huaisang turns without responding to the jibe at all and walks off towards another door.

Ouch again.

He trots after the other man and falls into step beside him as they enter a hallway that’s clearly not for public use. Part of him wants to ask where they’re going, if just to break the uncomfortable silence, but he keeps his mouth shut.

They finally stop at a door that, when Nie Huaisang slides it open, leads to a tiny garden so deep in the sect's keep that the back wall of it is cut into the mountain itself.

And in that little carved out cave, shielded from wind and rain and snow, sits a funeral tablet on a table shrine.

Wei Wuxian involuntarily sucks a sharp breath through his teeth at the sight of it, his hand coming up to clutch at his chest. Guilt wells up hot and stinging and bitter in his stomach, then higher into his throat. Dizzy, he sways on his feet and is only vaguely aware of the hands that catch him.

Once his resurrection had been revealed, everyone simply accepted him as “Wei Wuxian”, not “Wei-Wuxian-In-Mo-Xuanyu’s-Body”, seemingly having just... forgotten that the face he has now once belonged to someone else. He had grown so settled into this body that until the dreams had begun, he had barely given Mo Xuanyu a second thought.

But right at this moment, staring at the name carved into that tablet, held up by the one person left who had remembered- had loved the original owner of this body enough to memorialize him, he has never felt more like an invader in it.

His vision, gone fuzzy from the sickening torrent of emotion, slowly begins to come back into focus and, for just a moment, he is staring through Mo Xuanyu’s eyes into the worried expression of Nie-xiong before the lingering memory clears to the more neutral face of Nie-zongzhu.

He is on the ground, his head in the man’s lap, and the sudden urge to cry hits him hard. “Do you hate me?” he asks without meaning to, voice coming out plaintive and half-strangled by his effort to hold back the tears.

“You were the one who decided there was nothing left between us worth salvaging.”

“I did. And it was stupid. But that’s not what I mean, and you know it. Do you hate me for having this face?”

There is a pause, then a quiet sigh. “No, I don’t.”

“Why?”

“If it wasn’t you, it would be someone else. Or something else. Yu-er was…”

Nie Huaisang turns his head away, expression softening into a complicated mix sadness and pain, and Wei Wuxian finds himself thinking that while ‘his’ Nie-xiong might be dead, Mo Xuanyu’s Nie-xiong might still exist somewhere deep under the protective layers of Nie-zongzhu.

He swallows hard, then makes himself sit up and looks again at the tablet and its small offerings.

“Determined,” he says quietly, finishing the sentence. A tiny wet laugh bubbles out of his throat. “I thought… I really did believe that you had forced him into it,” he continues, and in the edge of his vision, he sees Nie Huaisang flinch at the accusation. “But no. No. He... really was determined to see it out to the end.”

“How do you-”

“Ah.” He scratches his cheek, then scoots to face the other man. “That’s actually the reason I needed to talk to you. I’ve been seeing- fuck, dreaming his memories, I guess… though they were more like nightmares, considering what was in them-”

“Wait,” Nie Huaisang says, holding up a hand. “When did this start?”

“Mmh. Just a little over ten months ago, I think? Or maybe closer to eleven. The first one was of your visit right after his mother died.”

Nie Huaisang goes slightly pale at that, though whether it’s from the admission of the length of time or the contents of the memory, Wei Wuxian can’t tell.

He gets an answer when Nie Huaisang gets up and rushes to the table, returning with something carefully cradled in his hands.

It’s a spirit pouch.

His hands are shaking as he holds them out to accept the tiny burden, and he’s vaguely aware that he’s gaping like a fish. “Huaisang…” he chokes out when he finally manages to find his voice again, but that’s as far as he gets.

“I… have studied a lot of ways of finding and contacting the dead,” Nie Huaisang says, and Wei Wuxian nods along numbly because that makes a ridiculous amount of sense, given the circumstances. “I know what the ritual notes said, but seeing that there was still something left of Da-ge after everything that had been done to him…”

He reaches out and touches the pouch and Wei Wuxian finds himself thinking of a gentle hand ruffling his (but not his) hair.

“I’m just sorry it took me two years to get up the nerve to go looking.”

But you went, Wei Wuxian thinks. You went.

He’d never even considered it. It had never crossed his mind at all.

“Eleven months ago, right?” he asks, voice still a little squeaky.

“Mm-hmm. I should have written to you about this long before now, but it seemed like every time I’d prepared myself to send the letter, something would happen that would remind me that… well.”

That we’re not friends anymore.

That you want nothing to do with me.

Wei Wuxian closes his eyes and rests his hands in his lap, still holding the pouch as if it’s made of porcelain instead of cloth. “I probably wouldn’t have read it,” he confesses quietly. “Or I would have, but I wouldn’t have believed you. I would have thought it was a ruse, a setup-” A tiny, wounded laugh escapes his mouth and he tilts his head back to stare up at the sky. “Maybe that’s why I started having the dreams. His way of telling me I’m an idiot.”

“A little drastic on his part if it was.”

“Can’t say it wasn’t necessary.” The pouch gives a jangling, discordant little hum when he pets it, the fracturing of the soul within vastly different from what he’d felt from Xiao Xingchen. The pieces feel smaller and fewer, yet heavier. “Oh,” he murmurs when he realizes why.

“Oh?”

“The array was designed to consume the resentment of the caster based on negative memories of the person or persons they wanted to curse. That’s why the memories of you and the flashes of his mother were so vivid when the rest of them weren’t. That’s why you were able to find these pieces. He really did see you two as the only bright spots in his life, so those memories were spared.”

Nie Huaisang makes a choked noise in the back of his throat, and when Wei Wuxian turns his head, the other man is looking away in a clear attempt to hide his expression. “He was wrong.”

“A year ago, I would have agreed,” Wei Wuxian mumbles. “After everything he showed me, though… I don’t think he was. I get it.”

He takes a deep breath. He has never talked about this, not with Lan Zhan, not with Wen Ning, and certainly not with Jiang Cheng, even if they are taking tentative baby steps towards being less awkward around each other. He’s not sure he should be talking about it with Nie Huaisang either, but-

“I know what it’s like, just wanting everything to end. Deciding the whole world can go to hell. Maybe I didn’t intend for the backlash from breaking the seal to kill me, but I sure didn’t fucking care what it would do to me one way or another. Nothing and nobody could have saved me by that point. You couldn’t have saved him even if you’d dragged him home with you like Lan Zhan wanted to do to me.”

“Wei Wuxian-”

He ignores the little flutter in his chest that they’ve at least moved back to an address that feels less precarious than the icy ‘Wei-xiansheng’. “Let me finish, okay?”

“Okay.”

“So... So... Ah, fuck,” he mutters, gently shifting the pouch so he can scratch the back of his neck, trying to catch the lost trail of thought. “You know… I never questioned the clothing I woke up in when I was resurrected. As brutal and nasty as the Mo family were and as disgusting as that little shack was, it should have come off as weird that I was wearing such nice robes.”

There is a quiet sniffle, and Wei Wuxian pretends not to see Nie Huaisang wipe wet eyes with the edge of a sleeve as he continues talking. “He appreciated those. Appreciated that you tried to take care of him.”

He raises the pouch to eye level, and it gives another little crackly hum. “And clearly he still appreciates your efforts, considering his method of dragging me here to make me apologize for thinking the worst of your relationship. So, I’m sorry for that.”

Nie Huaisang gives a watery little chuckle and swipes at his eyes again. “Accepted. Is he… Is he alright? I only know how to contact souls, I don’t know anything about tending to them.”

“Honestly… I’m not sure what can be done,” Wei Wuxian admits as he begins another examination. “There’s really so little of him left, I don’t know what will happen if a purification ritual is attempted. He seems to be more stable as he is than Xiao Xingchen was, but there’s no guarantee he’ll stay like that. Still, I owe it to him to find some way to help him out, so I’ll do what I can.”

“If it would be easier for you to take him back to the Cloud Recesses for study, then… then you should,” Nie Huaisang says, and Wei Wuxian is a little bit impressed that he was able to make the offer despite how much it must have hurt.

“I think he’d be much happier staying here,” he says, then tentatively adds, “But that would mean visits, plural, and while I’m definitely going to have a very long talk with them about all this, I doubt I’ll be able to come without either Lan Zhan or Wen Ning… probably both at first.”

Nie Huaisang rubs his temples with his fingertips, his expression cycling through a complicated series of emotions too quickly for Wei Wuxian to follow, then he sighs. “We’ll figure something out,” he says as he reaches out and takes back the pouch.

Wei Wuxian can’t help smiling at the tender way he cradles it against his chest as he gets up to approach the funeral tablet and put it back in place. “Yeah. We’ll figure something out.”

[luxshine]

Supernatural and the Dark Tower... Or how some writers are better gods than others.

The Dark Tower, by Stephen King, has a very interesting take on endings at the end of the seven book long journey Roland the Gunslinger took to reach the title Dark Tower.   I was going to write it all but it’s about two pages long, and if you haven’t read the books it may not make much sense. However, the main take is that there is no such thing as happy endings, but there are endings that are happy enough. That the ending he gave us, with Roland reaching the tower, and Susannah meeting Eddie and Jake in Central Park is one of those, and that if we, his Constant Readers, go on reading the last pages of the Coda, we will be “disappointed, perhaps even heartbroken”. That “Endings are heartless. Ending is just another word for goodbye.”

I keep thinking about those lines when I think of Supernatural’s 15x19 and 15x20.

15x19 is not a perfect ending. I mean, we’re still missing people, Jack saying he’ll be hands off is not really nice, and Cas is still in the Empty. BUT we have hope. The Brothers are free. And just as we can imagine (And King tells us it might happen) how Susannah and Eddy and Jake may meet a dog version of Oy (If you’ve read the books, it makes sense. If not, well, just trust me that it is a happy situation), we can picture Dean hitting the books, and he and Sam finding a way to get Castiel back, human or angelic depending on your preferred tea, and Sam reuniting with Eileen. And afterwards? Well, you decide. Whatever happens, we still have hope.

It’s not Happily Ever After, but as King says, it’s good enough. We could’ve stopped there and pick our own ending. But of course, there’s still 15x20. And when we saw it, we were certainly disappointed, even if we weren’t heartbroken (I was, but I digress)

Just as King warned us not to keep going in the Dark Tower Coda, someone should’ve warned us not to keep going to the end of Supernatural. And here, doing a full circle on the meta, I warn you that if you keep reading, I will go on spoilers for The Dark Tower AND Supernatural (Of course, if you got to Supernatural 15x20 and are heartbroken over it… you probably remember what happened in seasons 4, 5 and 9 so … those wouldn’t be spoilers)

If you’re still with me, I am sorry, I am about to go on a long, long diatribe about how the Dark Tower is an amazing meta tale, even if the end made me cry in public for the first time in years while reading a book. And how Supernatural, by accident or by intent, tried to do the same and kind of went the wrong way in Albuquerque when it could’ve been a lot better.

Yes, Supernatural could’ve been better than a Stephen King book, and that coming from me is high, HIGH praise.

See, The Dark Tower is a tale about well, a lot of things, but in the axis, in the tower, so to speak, is a tale about tales. About stories and how we relate to fiction and about how we, the readers, relate to fiction. Of course, this is REALLY subtextual, since the actual story is about a sort of medieval cowboy traveling across dimensions to save the axis of existence.

It’s a complicated series of books.

In any case, around book 6, Roland, our cowboy, ends up in the real world. Our real world. And he meets Stephen King, OUR Stephen King (Well, a douchier version of King, to be fair), who upon being confronted by his own characters has a big ego boost and declares himself a god.

Pretty much like Chuck did back in the Monster at the End of the Book, except that there, he changed his mind pretty quickly and went back to his “meek prophet” disguise. King didn’t, by the way, and Roland left that world even LESS impressed than the Winchesters with their own author.

Now, we all know that at the End of season 5, it so happened that Chuck WAS God, and we got confirmation back in season 9 when he still liked fan fiction and his characters, apparently, until he went all megalomaniac “I am a God and I can destroy you if you don’t follow my plot”… thing is? King did the opposite.

See, The characters had to go back to the real world to save King from a drunk truck driver that ran over him in real life. In the book, one of the characters even sacrifices himself for it. But now, King is no longer so full of himself that he thinks he’s a god and he deserves said sacrifice. He admits he, as a writer, is only telling the story that the real god, in this case Gan, lets him see. He only has keys to peek through doors of reality, and what he writes, is what he sees. Not what he wants, not what he thinks is better, but what the CHARACTERS want.

So yeah, the opposite of Chuck.

But then, The Dark Tower goes a bit further. Once again, comparing ends, the End of Supernatural left us empty because it WAS a Goodbye. A bad one too as it left us with absolute no hope (except for those fix it fics where Dean goes and finds out why his angel is ghosting him in Heaven, for fucks sake, and Sam’s blurry face wife is Eileen, but those are FICS. Not the story). The story ends with Sam and Dean dead, in a Heaven that may be as well Earth-lite as far as we know, but we have no real way of knowing if it’s not just a bigger version of the original “repeat your happy memories ad nauseaum”

No change, no free will. No to be Continued, no hope of a better life. Just… End. Bye. Nothing more to see.

The end to the Dark Tower is equally heartbreaking ,but at the same time, a bit more hopeful.

Because in that universe, characters whose stories end? If they keep going, they go back to the beginning. Not to the beginning of time, or of their lives but to the Beginning of THEIR Story. For one brief moment they know this is happening, that they’re back in that first opening sentence, that they will have to suffer through all of it again UNCHANGING and all the joy will happen, but also all the sadness. All the tragedy. And then they forget. And the story starts again, because the story is a book, and a book can only have one plot, one ending, and re-reading it won’t change what happened.

Roland cries and begs for mercy, but the Tower is unmoving and he goes back. We, the Readers, go Back.

EXCEPT

There’s a tiny, small change from the “beginning” we read now, to the beginning we read in the first book. We’re told that the time we read was not the first time, that Roland has done this a thousand times before. But this time, we went with him, so he gets a small change, a tiny thing, but big because, in Roland subconscious, may mean that this time, the story will be different. So we’re left with a tiny bit of hope, despite how badly we were crushed seconds before.

And Supernatural could’ve given us that. Not the same of course, not with Dean or Sam (Let’s be honest, it would’ve been probably Sam, given how much the writer’s room loved him) waking up in the pilot, Remembering all that happened, and knowing that they can’t really change it because it was already written, but then noticing they already have the Colt, or Ruby’s knife. Or perhaps they have the key to the bunker and a map already. That would’ve been too close to comfort for plagiarism so nope.

BUT

We could’ve ended with Billie closing one of her books and telling Dean, the Dean from season 12, that that COULD be how his story ends, and that he now has the choice to make his own ending, that he can either go against Chuck or convince Chuck his ending was crap.

We could’ve ended with Sam convincing Chuck that there’s another road to the ending he wants, as long as he lets them go on. He may be bored of the characters now, but he can always wait for a bit.

With Chuck giving the reins of his world to Becky and the fangirls, really closing on the whole “death of the author” and not ruining a character that, prior to season 15, the fandom loved.

With a thousand of ways that left both the meta world intact, and our hearts hurt, but not broken. Not angry.

(And that is not touching on the usual misogyny, racism, and heteronormative that the ending insisted on reinforcing)

Supernatural could’ve ended with a bang, and become an absolute legend. Instead, it ended with a whimper, and as a cautionary tale.

There’s no such thing as a happy ending, said King. But we could have had a Hopeful one.

[letfatewritethewords]

I process things with art. I process with written words in the hopes that one day it can be spoken without my voice shaking. This week has been one for the books.. and I decided to share. This is long, but I want to remember what I’m learning.. how I’m processing.. if you decide to read, thank you. If not, this will still be here as a reminder of my progress every year.

I always tell people that there was no reason for my name, but it’s a lie. I’m named after Samantha on BeWitched. My grandfather loved that show and suggested it when my mother couldn’t decide. I was born in early September and that makes me a Virgo. Astrology is one of my favorite things. There’s something extraordinary about the idea that we’re connected to the universe by the positioning of the stars. Sometimes it’s so vague.. but other times, it’s right on the nose and my horoscopes will make me cry. Speaking of that, I’m an empath and a 2. When I’m unhealthy, I’m a 4 and If you know what any of that means, I’d love to talk to you more about it. Winter is my favorite season. Fall is a close second. I love the snow and how muted everything is. I like the quiet, the beauty. Sometimes, the light from the sun will shimmer off a fresh coat of snow on the ground. It is absolutely blinding, but I’d still stare, and when the snow fell at night, I’d watch it under the street light across from my house and it felt like time stood still. When I was little, I would lay in the yard full of snow, alone, in my puffy suite, until my fingers and toes would go numb from the cold, listening to the silence, but the best part of those days was going back into my grandparents house and warming up with hot coco made on the stove, wrapping myself in a soft blanket and watching old movies with my grandfather. To me, the Winter is magical. My love languages are Quality Time and Acts of Service. I’m an introvert but I love people. I like to observe, I like to really understand how the mind works and Im eager to help. I thrive in controlled chaos. I like puzzles, I love music, I like crafts, I like to fix things because grandpa always taught me that nothing is to broken to fix. Nothing. No one.

This is the light. This is the part of me that I give willingly to anyone I meet. I wear it on my sleeve. It’s only the light. Until the last 2 years.. this was all I could give of myself because I’ve always been scared of the dark.

The darkest part of me lasted 8 years, my rock bottom lasted 4.5, but as a whole it’s taken up almost 12 years of my life. Sometimes I worry that all I'm ever going to be is this thing that happened to me. That this will define me for the rest of my life and I need to remind myself that I’m a person that can live separate from an event.

I went to the police station this week, I filled out more forms. I’ve filled out so many forms over the last 2 years. For an emergency restraining order this time. For Florida this time. I knew it would eventually follow me here but typhus felt too soon. The clerk called me brave. I smile and thank them every time but I never know how to respond to that. She has no idea how weak it feels and I mean.. how could she. This is the right choice, the obvious choice, the smart choice. In a different situation, it’s one of the many steps I’d be urging someone else to take. In all the chaos, all the hurt, in all the anger and sadness.. it always circles back to “I loved him”. I did. I wanted to fix him. I wanted to see him grow and heal and if I loved him hard enough for the both of us, it would’ve evened out eventually… right?

I failed.

He was always who he was, but I was young and naive and ready to fix the whole world. When I was 18 and we were free, I would’ve told you he saved me. Now that I’m in my 30’s… and he’s in prison and I’m in limbo.. I don’t know what I’d tell you. He didn’t save me, but he didn’t destroy me either. I had every opportunity to tap out and give up.. but I grew into a person I might not have been if I never met him.

Am I angry? All of the time.

Am I scared? Yes.

I see things more clearly now though. People talk about how you never know someone’s story, and that’s because we are experts at playing pretend like we have it all figured out until we’re alone and have to face truest selves. The facade is the hardest thing to give up. Some people saw through mine and there are others, who have built their own, that never will. I share posts about what I’ve learned, how I see people, how I’ve try to treat people with grace and teach children with love and patience in hopes that a little of that sinks into whoever it reaches, but I very rarely show the journey. Partly because I know the details are gruesome and that’s not for everyone, but mostly because I’m scared.

How will you see me?

What will you think?

I’m learning that I’m not this big awful thing that happened to me. I was never anyone’s property and I’m not chained to it anymore. I was very much lied to and manipulated and hurt long enough that it flipped onto me and I carried it without missing a step. I wanted to love him so much that I would heal him. Instead, he “loved” me so much it almost killed me, and he did call it love. Enough times that he re-defined it and I didn’t use that word for a very long time in any meaningful situation. He, for better or for worse, drastically changed the trajectory of my life.

But it’s ok.

I’m wounded but I’m healing. I’m lonely, but I’m learning how to slowly welcome more people in and step out of my comfort zone. If I’m being honest, I’m relearning a lot of things, including how to exist in a world where I have room to make mistakes and fail. I can say or do the wrong thing and be gently corrected for it by my people and move on … sans violence. There are no words for amount of relief I feel because of that truth.

Is it over? No.

He was sentenced to 7 years last year and every year around mid July early August there is an opportunity to apply for an appeal based on his behavior, which will always be immaculate because he is not as tough as he thinks he is. This means that if he applies and it goes to trial, I’m also notified and have to reappear, show any new evidence, and reexplain why he needs to stay there for the safety of others and myself. Telling my story once a year on a whim to a room full of strangers, always men, so they can decide my fate, as well as the fate of this “upstanding young man with a good head on his shoulders” (actual words used during my initial rape/domestic abuse trial against him), was never what I imagined finally turning him in would look like. I really never thought that after everything, his sentence wouldn’t even be as long as our relationship. The original sentence was 5 years. After he got out on a Governor Cuomo Covid related prison loophole and broke his parole almost immediately, he was sentenced to another 2 on top of that. He has 6 left. We talk about how flawed our system is, but really seeing it is a different kind of punch. Women aren’t believed. There’s a reason so many of these crimes go unreported, and why so many women die at the hands of angry men. The hoops you have to jump through are miles high and on fire, and when you and the advocate show up armed only with your truth, your tears and a little evidence from one night at a bar when he got to drunk and forgot he was in public, it’s very easy for a judge to rule on the softer side. Because, as you all know, we’d never want to ruin a wealthy mans life unless there’s cold, hard, reason to.

Seeing his face when they read out his sentence, after years of terror, was satisfying to say the least and if I hadn’t been so numb to get through the hearing, I would’ve enjoyed it more. I will never forget going to a trusted friends house after that hearing and being completely overwhelmed with all of the emotions. Relief, guilt, sadness, anger, happiness, fear.. so many I couldn’t express.. all at once because the novocain wears off and numb isn’t forever and I fell asleep with their dog after a lot of crying. I’d be lying though if I said that 18 year old in me didn’t feel a loss. I grew up with incredible grandparents that did amazing things in teaching me how to love people and be a good human, but no one can protect us from everything. I also grew up with a mother who fights demons of her own and never had the capacity to love two kids. In a situation like that, someone becomes the punching bag. I became the punching bag and desperately looked for ways out, an opportunity to run.. and I ran right into him, who accepted me with open arms for the first time in my young, very inexperienced life.. and I followed him blindly and he was my whole world. Until I was 27, I didn’t have a guide. By the grace of God I landed into a community in Florida that slowly helped me realize my worth.

So.. what now.

How do we fix what our parents and past broke?

How do you reparent yourself?

The mental health journey is proving to be my biggest struggle yet. There’s no more outside factors, it’s just me and the lies that have fed me for years and altered how I think and feel and understand the world. I can feel myself frustrating people I’ve let close to me. I feel myself getting nervous and pushing people away. Sometimes I can catch it and regroup, other times that nasty little voice is too loud and I’m exhausted. My goodness though, how cool is it to learn so much about yourself? I know I have the capacity to love that broken part of me eventually, but it’s still hard to face. Getting to learn and understand the reason behind your actions is terrifyingly amazing. I am proud of this journey. Even when I don’t always come up on top. It’s hard to see the progress while you’re in it, but laying it all out like this.. I can safely say I’m never going to be that 18 year old girl ever again. Some days this journey looks different, some days the darkness wins, because healing isn’t linear. Sometimes it’s one step forward, 2 steps back… but nothing is too broken to fix.. and I will never call that darkness home again.

[spaceskam]

The Golden Boy

hey look i finally finished that fic i’ve been giving sneak peeks about for months

warning: past child abuse, sexual content

ao3 

In Bacchus Year 9 (Earth year 1782), Antar and Earth signed a peace treaty.

The treaty meant requiring many social gatherings on either planet, kind gestures between royals, and many public statements against prejudice of each other's people. It even led to Earth assisting the rebels during the Antarian Civil War in Bacchus Year Final (Earth Year 1834), stating proudly that they signed the treaty for the people, not the monarchs. As one would assume, that line went over fantastically with the public.

They heavily supported the rise of King Atlas Gudrun, a man of great people skills and desire to help, in Gudrun Year 0 (Earth Year 1844). The Gudrun family (which had been anglicized on Earth to Guerin) had been ruling on Antar ever since and had always done their best to keep up their loyal companionship with Earth and its leaders.

It all led to this moment in Gudrun Year 176 (Earth year 2020) where Prince Michael of Antar, fourth of his name, son of King Heinar, known for his charm and wit, had Prince Alex, first of his name, adoptive son of King James Valenti, known for his intellect and beauty, completely strung out and naked against sheets made of the finest Antarian silks.

"How long until the little pest makes you leave?" Michael asked softly, trailing his fingers over the dip of Alex's slightly crooked collarbone. Alex's eyes were closed and his lips were parted and if Michael didn't know any better, he'd think he was asleep. But he did know better and he knew he was simply in a state of bliss that only occured in moments like this.

Their one off tryst had actually occurred more than once, but it wasn't frequent enough to call it a thing. They saw each other a few times a year if they were lucky and could steal a few hours each time to sneak away. If they were supremely lucky, they could even take a night. They weren't this time.

"He said we have until six before we have to be taken to get ready for dinner," Alex whispered, not bothering to correct him for calling his brother a pest while slowly turning onto his side and letting his forehead hit Michael's shoulder. Michael pouted.

"I miss you already," he admitted stupidly, combing through Alex's long hair. He'd seen a picture of him with it all shaved off and had met him when it was short, but apparently he hadn't cut it at all since he'd been given the title of prince. Michael didn't mind.

"You come to Earth in a month, don't you? Ask to stay longer, I’m sure we could easily explain away a reason you should stay in my home," Alex whispered, pressing a kiss to his shoulder.

"If you come up with a good reason for me, I'll do it. I'm bad at excuse making," Michael grumbled. Alex smiled and lifted his hand, his cold fingertips pressing to Michael's cheek and his lips.

"I'll cause a national disaster if it means getting you alone for one night," Alex said. Michael stared for a moment before grabbing him and rolling him into his back, stealing a series of slow, deep, open mouthed kisses that only came so easily because they were with him.

Michael adored the way Alex grabbed at him, hands never staying one place too long because he wanted to touch everywhere. He wanted to remember everywhere. He wanted him in his entirety. He could never find the words for how it made him felt to be wanted so strongly if only for a night.

"Please never leave," Michael begged against his skin. Alex said nothing.

Instead, the bedroom door was very rudely and unceremoniously thrown open. Michael instinctively covered Alex’s bare skin and looked towards the doorway. On the other side, Michael's guard, Adonis, stood with his back to them in some silly act of respect while Kyle stood with his arms crossed while looking really irritated. He walked in farther and closed the door behind him. Or, tried. Adonis stuck his hand to block it from closing entirely. He trusted Alex to be alone with the prince. Kyle was still earning that.

"Get up, we have to go get ready," Kyle said. He had no shame, truly, as he sat on the bed. Michael fell face first into the pillows and groaned. "Excuse you, I'm doing you a favor."

"You're interrupting," Alex corrected, tan fingers idly rubbing over Michael's shoulder.

"I disagree. I think I just lied to two fucking monarchs that we three princes were going to be hanging out and doing princely things when, in reality, I was playing some fucked version of Go Fish with Adonis while you two snuck away for your intergalactic booty call," Kyle explained. Michael groaned even more.

"How vulgar must you be?" he asked. Kyle raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, you wanna go there? I've seen your U-Mails to Alex. 'Oh, how I long to get your mouth on my–'"

"Enough!" Alex silenced him, shifting to a sitting position. Michael wanted to cry that it was over so soon. Especially when they still had to sit across the table from each other and pretend he hadn't just had him to himself. "Leave and let me get dressed, then we can go."

"Finally," Kyle groaned, patting Michael on the back before he went, "Good to see you, Prince Sexual Frustration."

The door closed if only because Adonis insisted on the prince being kept away from anyone who might catch him in a vulnerable state. Alex took the opportunity to move back for a few more kisses, all of them feeling more and more like goodbye. He remembered a time when he didn't mind goodbyes. Now they felt like a death sentence.

“Stop pouting,” Alex told him softly as he slowly weaned him off his lips, “This isn’t the end of the night. I’ll still see you at dinner and I still don’t leave until tomorrow morning.”

“But you leave so early,” Michael whined, “And at dinner, there’s people.” 

Alex traced a finger from Michael’s temple down to his jaw, moving his thumb up between their mouths. He gently grazed Michael’s bottom lip before pushing down on the sore skin.

“I’ve read countless articles about all the wondrous things you say, how well spoken you are, how you can charm anyone to their knees in four languages,” Alex said, voice hot, “If only they could see the way you beg.”

Michael huffed a sad laugh, knowing Alex was trying to distract him from his sad thoughts and deciding to play along. Alex pushed his face away and went to get up. Michael pushed himself off the bed and caught Alex’s bicep, unskillfully pulling him down on top of him.

“You are the only one allowed to see me beg,” Michael said. Alex smiled at him, honest and bold as ever. He laid his weight on Michael completely, trusting him not to treat that little act with anything but kindness. It was the most beautiful thing Michael had ever been given. 

He went to move up for another kiss, but he was horrifically sidelined when Alex dodged him and pushed him back into the bed to get himself up. Michael remembered the first time Alex had pushed him. His first reaction had been anger that a silly little Earth man would dare to touch him that way. But his second reaction had been absolute delight when he realized he’d only been pushed because Alex wanted him against the wall. They were so young then. Somehow, things hadn’t really changed.

Alex got out of bed and grabbed the prosthetic leg that he somehow didn’t mind Michael seeing him without. He moved with agile fingers to put it back on in record time before he stood and stretched his body out in objectively the most unfair way that existed. He was long and lean, muscular and tan. And he was covered in scars. No two scars were more than a hands-length apart, Michael had tried. He kept them hidden usually and he kept their origin firmly to himself (including how he lost his leg), but Michael had been blessed with the sight of them. They were 16 the first time they kissed in the halls of the palace, but 18 before he saw Alex’s body in its full glory. It was a small gift, but one that he treasured on nights he felt more alone than he could bear. 

“Stop staring at me like I’ve just ruined your entire day,” Alex laughed as he pulled on those ugly clothes that Earth called formal. His pants were a stiff, tan fabric and his shirt was an equally stiff white thing that buttoned up all the way up to hide his collarbone. The clothing was ugly, but the man inside was beautiful and it simply made him look neutral. How decidedly boring.

“Oh, what the hell is that?” Michael scoffed.

“Don’t act like you don’t know what a belt is,” Alex said, giving him a fond smile as he pulled the folded thing from the deep pocket of his pants. He hadn’t been wearing it when Michael got him alone.

“Yes, but where did it come from?”

“Bold of you to assume I wouldn’t remove it so I wouldn’t waste time when I saw you,” Alex said, flashing a cocky little smile and it reminded Michael all over again why his people had been so okay with making him an eligible heir despite his lack of birthright. How could anyone deprive a face like that of the entire world? “But don’t worry. You and your mother both find Earth clothing to be a personal insult, so I’m sure they’ll have something nice and alien for me to wear.”

And they did. Michael had gotten his sister to see to it that they put Alex in gold if only for his personal enjoyment. Soon, he’d be in loose, silk pants and a long-sleeved, knee-length tunic that happened to be a very specific shade of gold that would probably make it difficult to focus at dinner but it would be worth it. Typically, their tunics would have a deep v-cut neckline (Michael’s in particular going to his navel as a show of both his age and his marriage status) but he knew Alex and he knew he didn’t like his scars on display, so he made sure they knew to keep it more modest and to also have an option to put something beneath it if he wasn’t comfortable. It was the least he could do.

With a flick of his wrist, Michael fastened the upper half of the buttons on Alex’s shirt so he could steal a few more seconds to kiss him. Alex rolled his eyes, but he went along willingly as Michael got to his hands and knees on his mattress and crawled over to him. Alex shook his head and caught his face in his hand, guiding him up and giving him a kiss that truly was too explicit to mark the end.

“After everyone goes to bed, I’ll get Luke to sneak me to Adonis,” Alex whispered, ignoring the sound of Kyle’s sudden annoyed knocking. Michael nodded in his grasp and turned his face to press a kiss to his palm. That should’ve been an unscarred place, but there was an unmistakable line of discolored, raised skin down the middle. Michael kissed it without fear or disgust and Alex pressed his hand against his mouth in approval. “I plan to make it so you won’t be able to walk in the morning.”

Michael laughed, “People will talk.”

“Let them.”

“You know,” Kyle said, busting in again and Adonis quickly stood in the doorway after his entrance to shield whatever incriminating position Alex and Michael might be in, “You two take more time to get dressed than it takes a majority of people in existence.”

“Blame the leg,” Alex said simply, his smile cocky as he pulled away from Michael. He kissed the tip of his nose and patted his cheek in the most loving way he could. “I’ll see you soon.”

“Not soon enough.”

“Never.”

“I’m gagging,” Kyle said in a monotone voice. Alex rolled his eyes and let his hands slip off of Michael, leaving him cold and lonely despite being far from alone. “Let’s go. I don’t want to be asked questions I can’t answer without incriminating myself.”

“We’re going,” Alex said, already following him to the door. He spared Michael one last look and a wink before disappearing with Luke, the final person who knew what was going on between them. 

Luke, Adonis, and Kyle only knew out of necessity. It was sort of an unspoken agreement between royal bodyguards and the royal children they looked after that they cover up every stupid decision they made as long as it wasn’t hurting anyone. Michael figured he could actually make an argument that this did hurt him, but that seemed frivolous at best. 

“Get up, little prince, you’ve got to get ready for dinner,” Adonis said as he entered the room once Alex and Kyle were gone. Michael pouted and dramatically fell backwards against the bed. Adonis chuckled under his breath. 

“Don’t call me little,” Michael said half-heartedly, easily slipping out of English and into his native tongue.

“I’ve been watching over you since you were small enough to get lost beneath your bed,” he said, “You will always be little to me, little prince.”

Michael glared at the ceiling. While he knew Adonis was right, he didn’t feel little. He knew, objectively, he was nearly 21 and he was nowhere near getting any kind of responsibilities outside the ones he had. Max was the one joining the military, Isobel was the one training to be queen, Michael was the baby who was left to do little more than indulge in his desires without consequences and be the face of the younger generation. He was friendly and charming and had women and men alike all screaming their appreciation for his face and his body and his smile all over the internet. He liked that attention and he liked just being able to go to parties and have fun and have people he met make posts about how fun it was to hang out with the prince. His father didn’t exactly approve, but it didn’t matter when the people did. They liked that he was young and real and approachable.

But there was something about Alex that made him feel more like a man than he could put into words. Alex was a few months younger than him, but he had seen more than Michael could imagine. He didn’t party, he didn’t drink, he didn’t do anything that could be a sign of weakness. He was beautiful, but he was a brilliant strategizer and worked closely with his adoptive father for many important decisions regarding the ruling of the kingdom. Kyle was the one who was approachable; Alex could barely spare a kind smile to the press and adoring people. People still liked him, but it wasn’t a secret he was straight-edged and hardened. Michael seemed to be his only vice. It was so… adult.

“Must I affiliate myself with foreign monarchs over food?” Michael asked helplessly, “Isn’t it enough to simply blow his son in my free time?”

Adonis sighed, but he seemed as amused as he always was when it came to Michael.

“Words to live by, little prince.”

-

“I’m judging you so hard right now.”

“Like I care.”

Kyle groaned and rolled his eyes as Luke followed them to their quarters. The Antarian royal family had a lot of land they resided on that had a secure gate around it, but they didn’t really believe in castles. Instead, it was a bunch of houses and special rooms, all connected by paths that were lined with well tended to gardens. 

“What’s even the point? Like, is this gonna amount to anything, or am I expected to die with this secret?” Kyle asked. Alex shrugged his shoulders dismissively. He and Michael didn’t talk about serious things. They were princes and dealt with so much bullshit. They kept each other as a safe place to unwind. “Great, I am expected to die with this.”

“It comes with the title, Your Highness,” Luke said simply. Kyle tilted his head back as he groaned again. Alex simply shook his head in amusement.

When they got back to the visitor’s quarters, three people were waiting for them to help them into their Antarian garb. There were a few different styles for different royal occasions, but, as visitors, they were typically given standard tunics. He remembered one visit when Michael had him sent special robes and wraps his way, ones like he wore when he was feeling extra, and he’d gotten so confused in trying to put it on that they now always sent an extra hand to make sure they wore it correctly. As confusing as they were, though, Alex was sure he would know how to put them on now. He’d taken them off Michael enough times.

“Thank you,” Alex said graciously as he accepted the fabrics. He went into his own room to change and would return back to let them make their adjustments. He wasn’t a big fan of people seeing his body. That meant questions and he wasn’t keen on answering those.

He laid the fabrics out on the bed so he could see what he was working with. As always, since he was 18, all of it was golden. Michael had some weird obsession with him in gold, but he never asked why. He thought it looked nice enough on him. 

The tunic had intricate leaf-like patterns embroidered into it that Alex couldn’t even begin to understand how long it took to achieve, but the pants were thankfully plain. Then there was a golden silk wrap and he smiled at whoever paid that much attention to detail. He grabbed it first and stood in front of the mirror as he wrapped it around his chest, covering any scars the low cut tunic might expose.

There were very few people who had seen those scars, most of which were purely out of an inability to hide them. If someone had told him when he was being tended to after losing his leg that one of those people awarded the visual of his skin would’ve been an Antarian Prince, he would’ve laughed in their face. His father had hated the Antarians more than he hated Alex. He was supposed to stay away.

But then the king got involved, Jim Valenti creating a huge uproar as he worked to change the rules that would mean Alex could be an eligible heir. And now he was. Which meant he had to work with Antarian officials at the ripe old age of fifteen, suddenly going from a maimed soldier to a pretty little prince. The first year seemed to be full of rigorous re-training of his brain to be good at the social part of things. The second year he was brought to Antar for the first time.

He distinctly remembered the first time he saw Michael, young and carefree and absolutely shameless. He had outwardly chosen Alex to fawn over for the extent of their stay, constantly sending smiles and winks and batting his eyelashes. He leaned too close when they talked and kept offering to show him where things were. Alex had disliked his abrasiveness to the point that, the closer he got, the more it set off his fight or flight reflexes. He almost hit him three times before Michael seemed to get the memo.

When the Antarian royal family traveled to Earth for their public appearances, Michael was much more tame. Unlike the rest of his family, he’d opted out of donning more of Earth’s style of clothing. There was something so bold about the way he walked around in his wraps and robes, all of it loose and seemingly hanging onto him just barely. It had exposed a good portion of his chest and his arms, even his thighs if he walked a certain way. Earth was too hot to cover more, he’d said. That’s when Alex really saw him. He was annoying as all hell, but he would be damned if someone tried to shame him into changing himself even for a moment. Alex had kissed him before he went home which was absolutely Alex’s fault. It was his favorite mistake.

“Gold always looks good on you,” Fides said as Alex walked back into the main room. He smiled his thanks and she led him to a chair to fix his face and his hair. She was the only one he trusted near him with all the tools that it took to make him look nice enough for the queen.

It seemed to be an hour before she was done, but it was worth it. Alex’s hair was braided into intricate six-strand braids that made a makeshift crown around his head and other tiny ones throughout the rest of his hair while the majority of it stayed down and was loosely curled where it rested against his shoulders. His eyes had thick and bold black eyeliner that seemed to bleed into gold eyeshadow which led to a leaf-like design that matched the pattern of his tunic that stretched to his sideburns, over his cheekbones, and above his eyebrows. His lips only had a thin layer of gloss over them, but he looked good and a part of him wondered if Michael would agree.

He knew he would.

“Thank you, Fides,” Alex said. She gave him a sweet smile and packed up her things. It was in Antarian’s blood to touch, but Fides respected Alex’s taste for it and, although he gave her permission to do his makeup, didn’t push him for more. It made her one of his favorite people.

It seemed achingly long before Kyle was done. He had a similar get-up to Alex, but his short hair was left alone and his face was more of just glittery and not in any particular design. It wasn’t long before their stylists excused themselves and went to do whatever they did in the main house. Alex and Kyle collapsed on the couch in time to Alex’s phone dinging to signify a U-Mail. He flipped through fabric to find which discreet pocket he’d slipped it into.

Eventually, he found it and he put effort into keeping his face straight as he sat Michael’s screen name cross his screen.

definitelynottheprince: My bed is cold and yet smells like your skin. It is the cruelest combination that has ever existed. How am I expected to be presentable at dinner while being mocked by the fabric that refused to keep your body in it’s grasp? My heart aches.

Alex somehow managed to keep his face seemingly uninterested despite the fact he wanted to both smile and make fun of him for being melodramatic.

HRH.AMV: You’re incorrigible.

Michael’s response wasn’t in English, but Alex was thankful it wasn’t if the few words he could pick out from his shotty language classes taught him anything. He understood the words floor, bed, week, and what was technically spoon but was slang for something that Alex knew had to be vulgar. Michael had a way with words in all four languages he knew and all of those ways were melodramatic and raunchy.

HRH.AMV: Does a moment ever pass where you’re not thinking about sex?

definitelynottheprince: Who says I’m thinking about sex?

HRH.AMV: I know you.

definitelynottheprince: You do. Then you should know the things I want to do with you aren’t all sexual.

It was one tiny word that made Alex’s blood run hot and he locked his phone so he didn’t have to think about it. With. Not to. He couldn’t explain why that was so exhilarating.

“Are you seriously making plans to get laid again already?” Kyle asked, “Literally how? Who has the stamina for all that?”

“Clearly not you,” Alex shot back. Kyle made a face mockingly.

“I just don’t get it,” Kyle sighed in exasperation, “Like, if it was Isobel, I’d get it.”

“So you’re homophobic?”

“No, let me finish,” Kyle scoffed and Alex waved him on while Luke watched with a bemused expression from where he leaned against the wall, “Isobel, I get it. She’s hot and could probably crush me. Max, I kinda get it, he’s nice and has that whole good-boy-soldier thing going for him. But Michael? The dude is known for being chill, I get it, but he loses all the charm when you see him five minutes after a party and he’s throwing up in the garden. Or how about the fact that he refuses to learn my name and just refers to me as the pest.”

“In his defense, you are a pest to him,” Alex pointed out.

“You didn’t answer my question.”

“Sorry, I failed to hear a question.”

Luke snorted and Kyle fixed Alex with a look. He wasn’t quite sure what he expected to get out of him. Alex had never been a secret-sharer, even when they were young and played toy soldiers in the little yard outside the palace. That had only gotten worse as Jim Valenti became king and, instead of listening to his former right hand man Jesse Manes, had him publicly tried for war crimes. His tight-lipped nature extended to his personal relationships, much to Kyle’s dismay.

“The question was how did you get involved with him in the first place? Because I’ve been trying to figure out how you two even get along since you started hooking up two years ago,” Kyle said, voice so honest Alex didn’t bother pointing out that it had been much longer than two years and Kyle just hadn’t noticed. “Just… make it make sense.”

Alex rolled his neck and tried to think about what exactly it was about Michael that made it hard to look away from him but also made it easy to go so long without speaking. As attached as they were when they were on the same planet and as much as they communicated in the weeks before and the weeks after, there were typically multiple days they went without so much as a word between them. They did their own duties and this thing they had found themselves in wasn’t a part of that. Michael spun romantic words for him, but Alex wasn’t his only pastime and probably never would be.

“He’s…” Alex trailed off, trying to find the words and settling on something that did the man no justice, “Simple.”

“Simple as in stupid?” Kyle asked dully.

“Simple as in not a problem,” Luke corrected.

“Simple as in he doesn’t ask questions,” Alex finalized. He meant it to be sort of lighthearted, but Kyle turned to him with concerned eyebrows.

“What do you mean?” he asked, but quickly decided to answer himself with another question, “You mean he doesn’t know about‒”

“No,” Alex said dismissively, carefully pushing himself to his feet and subtly checking his balance, “And he never will. We have dinner to attend to.”

Alex sort of checked out mentally for his own good after that, the walk to the dining hall and finding their seats completely a blur. He only seemed to come back to consciousness when Michael made his grand entrance. His robes and wraps were a dark red, hardly hanging onto his body as always. It exposed his chest more than anything else, the dangerous placement exposing the beginnings of the trail of hair beneath his navel. His head was held high, a thin gold band sitting atop his perfect curls. His eyes had cloudy red makeup surrounding them and his lips were painted gold. Alex smiled carefully to himself as he admired him.

Kyle was really the only one who actually looked forward to the food Antar had to offer. Alex didn’t hate it, but he would choose a pot of mac and cheese over the under-cooked meat of an animal that had no English name. Michael had tried to teach him how to say it, but it had way too many syllables and way too many consonants that Alex just couldn’t keep up. He’d just laughed and kissed him and never brought it up again.

“So, Prince Alex,” the smooth voice of Michael’s mother, the queen, said in her thick accent, capturing his attention. Queen Celeano (Lady No if she liked you) was a beautiful woman, but if that’s all someone took her for, they’d be sorely mistaken. 

She ran things more than her husband did, her iron fist impossible to ignore. She was fiercely protective of her children and rightfully skeptical of everyone who entered her home. But she seemed to like Alex. She never raised her voice or gave him that demanding tone she used on everyone else. The tone she used on him was motherly and made him eager to please her. When he was alone, he envied that Michael got that tone of voice from her all the time. 

“Michael said you were in school. Are you going to classes with other people or do you have a tutor?”

“Oh,” he said, shifting in his seat and hoping he was presentable enough for her, “Both. I go to only one class in a school every week, typically. I do like being there, but it’s difficult to balance everything with adding travel time and dealing with the stress of being in a crowded area.”

“Of course,” Lady No said, smiling, “And you’re doing well? It’s not easy I'm sure."

"I'm doing well. I'm studying poly-sci and I'm focusing on international relations right now," he explained. Alex's eyes involuntarily slid to Michael, watching him hide his smile by shoving food into his mouth with a two-pronged fork.

"Good. And languages, are you working on learning ours?" Lady No asked, seemingly oblivious to her son's antics. When Alex said he was, she followed it with a sentence in her own tongue that Alex could hardly decipher.

"...no?" he answered half-heartedly. Every Antarian in the room chuckled to themselves and Alex tried not to be offended by that.

"I asked if you were interested in becoming fluent," she said, still smiling easily, "I'm sure it'll come eventually."

"If he was here more often, I could make him learn,” Michael said boldly. 

"But obviously that's a bigger discussion to have," Alex covered quickly, hoping for an underlying message of ‘I care about your son but I’m not trying to destroy his innocence I swear’.

"Yes, a bigger discussion," Lady No said, nodding. 

"Maybe you could convince him into doing more schooling. I'm sure it'd sound better coming from you," King Heinar said gruffly. Michael gave an award-winning smile to his father which just earned a sigh.

The rest of the dinner went by slowly, but Alex's mind already started coming up with ways to make that suggestion a reality.

-

Michael was giddy after dinner and he found himself pacing his room while waiting for Alex. 

Within the hour, there was a knock on Michael’s bedroom door and he opened it to find Adonis and Alex.

“Thank you!” Michael told Adonis dismissively as he grabbed Alex by the bicep and tugged him into the privacy of his room. Both of them laughed, but Michael didn’t care as he immediately went in for a kiss. 

Alex was still decked out in his pretty clothes and his pretty makeup and Michael was high on everything. He was going to get to go to Earth and he was going to get to spend every single night in bed with him. It softened the blow that he would be leaving in only a handful of hours.

“Do you think we can set an alarm?” Michael asked through kisses, “So you can sleep with me for just a little while?”

“Yeah,” Alex agreed, nodding his head. Michael smiled.

“Yay.” 

“Before you get carried away, can we get this off my face so I don’t stain your pillow?” Alex asked, pulling out of the kiss a little breathlessly.

“Yeah, of course,” Michael said, leaving Alex with a simple kiss as he went to his vanity where he grabbed a cloth and makeup remover. 

He went back to Alex who had sat on the bed. He had the tunic bunched up and was slowly pulling it over his head without getting any makeup on the fabric. Michael grinned and helped get it the rest of the way off with a simple move of his eyes. Alex acknowledged his act with a shake of the head.

Alex scooted back just a little and leaned back on his hands. Michael perched himself on his lap and spared a simple kiss to the spot on his chest right above the wrap he hadn’t removed before getting to work on his face.

Michael had vivid memories of the confusingly slow process that was getting Alex to trust him with his body. He wasn’t sure why, but the search results that came up when Michael looked up his birth father told him it wasn’t due to a loving childhood. Still, he didn't look too far into it because that seemed like an all too obvious breech of Alex's personal boundaries.

Their first kiss had ended in Alex pinning his wrists to the wall whenever he tried to grab his waist. After that was years of every meeting involving gradual progress in Alex’s comfort levels. Hell, they were still making progress. It started with Michael not being allowed to touch him anywhere, his hands always being tucked behind his back or pinned down as Alex kissed him or touched him where he wanted to be touched all while fully clothed. They were seventeen the first time Alex had stripped Michael bare and yet kept himself covered. It was the most vulnerable Michael had ever felt in his life. As a reward for that trust, Alex let him touch his biceps when they kissed and his hair when Alex went down on him.

On Michael’s 18th birthday, Alex had taken his shirt off for the first time. Michael hadn’t been allowed to touch his scarred body with his hands, but he got to be chest to chest with him while he touched himself which had absolutely solidified his infatuation with him. 

The next time he saw him, after sharing pictures and conversations from the safety of being on separate planets, Alex had gotten completely stripped too (with the exception of his prosthetic). That time had been a little different in a few ways. There was no touching at all, but Michael got to watch him get himself off and Alex had watched him right back. Then Alex had locked himself in the bathroom for 30 minutes. But, when he came back out, fully dressed, he’d crawled into bed and they cuddled for the first time. 

Even though Kyle had ruined it by busting in, Michael remembered that night as the moment things really changed between them. It no longer felt like a game that made Michael feel giddy. It’d taken him a long time, too long, to fully realize the weight of what Alex was giving him and that it wasn’t a game to Alex at all. It never had been. That’s when Michael started laying on the sweet talking as thick as he wanted.

Two years after that realization, Michael was given free reign of Alex’s body with few restrictions. He could touch designated places with his hands: his face, his biceps, his thighs, his upper chest, and his hips. Michael could go down on him, but his hands had to be in visible areas and Alex typically chose to pin them down during it so he didn’t have to think. More often than not, Michael would still lay on his back with his hands tucked beneath him while Alex took over his mouth. No questions asked other than ‘is this okay?’. It made every step hold more weight than his casual hookups had. There was not a single thing boring or pointless about having Alex Manes in his bed.

“Up,” Alex dictated when Michael finished with his face and Michael listened without argue.

Alex removed his pants and got to work to take off his prosthetic. Instead of making Alex uncomfortable by staring, he turned the cloth to a clean corner before pouring a little remover on it and beginning to wipe at his own face. Alex took over when he put his prosthetic to the side.

“So, I may have thought of an excuse on how to get you to stay longer on my planet,” Alex said cooly, holding Michael’s chin in his hands as he wiped his face clean. His eyes were closed while Alex cleaned them, but that didn’t stop him from smiling so wide his cheeks hurt.

“Go on," Michael said, unable to hide the giddy tone in his voice. Alex hummed.

“You could do a semester of schooling there,” he suggested, "More if you like it."

Michael peeked open the eye that Alex wasn’t working on. “School?"

“School,” Alex said, his voice still controlled and face stoic despite literally sitting in nothing but his briefs and a wrap, “You could stay in the palace.”

"That's a long time."

"Yes, well," Alex sighed, "One semester is a few months. Then you could go home. And there's plenty of people who I'm sure would love to get their hands on an Antarian prince."

"Plenty of people?" Michael huffed, "What about you?"

"I'll be there when you want me," Alex said simply, but it was clearly an open invitation.

Michael wasn’t quite sure why Alex was trying to give him the option to opt out. The whole reason he wanted to go to Earth was to be with Alex. Michael already had his mind set on spending all of his free time with Alex while he was there. It would be difficult navigating being Princes from different planets while keeping their relationship a secret, but they could do it. Michael could make anything happen if it meant having Alex. He didn't know why Alex didn't see that.

“I would spend every night in your bed,” Michael said, leaning closer. Alex leaned back and held his face at bay. Michael knew better than to take offense to that and just kept smiling. “Don't be so scared of me.”

"I'm not scared of you." 

“You are,” he teased which Alex really didn't seem to like because he glared, "It'll be okay. No one's going to find out. Your home is a safe place for a foreign Prince, all the security. Perfect. And Luke and Adonis will help cover our tracks. We're safe and I want you.”

“You seem so confident that things will work out,” Alex said skeptically. Michael grinned.

“If I’m with you, I’ll always make things work.”

Alex let him come closer for a kiss and he pressed in hard right back. Michael could feel the tension radiating off him and cautiously reached his hand out to place on his thigh. He didn’t add any pressure, but he rubbed his thumb in circles until Alex stopped stressing so much.

“This is good,” Michael told him, “Isn’t it?”

“Yeah, it’s good,” he agreed, breaking the kiss only to get a good view of his face to make sure he hadn’t missed anything. Alex tossed the cloth off to the side and cupped the side of Michael’s neck in his hand. They stared at each other for a moment as Alex let it sink it. It was easy to forget how nervous Alex was to accept anything good. But Michael was going to make sure he finally started accepting that he deserved them. “Wouldn’t you miss your random one night stands?”

“Why would I when I had you with me all the time?” Michael asked. Alex scanned his face again.

“I’m temporary,” he said. Michael shook his head.

“I want to be with you,” he said honestly. He’d said those words in a lot of different ways, but that was the first time he’d said them so directly. He saw Alex swallow harshly before just going in for another kiss. Michael didn’t mind.

Alex laid him back into the bed, his hands slipping easily into the wraps around his body to get to his skin. Michael put his hand on Alex’s cheek and kept it there. The prospect of getting more of him than little moments a few times a year was exhilarating. Imagining his bed smelling like him at all times was almost too much. Things were going to be better than he could’ve dreamed.

He carefully moved his other hand to the wrap on Alex’s chest.

“Can I take this off?” 

Alex agreed without hesitation.

-

Things happened extremely quickly.

The door slammed open and Alex woke up in defensive mode. Too many nights his father had come into his bedroom as a test, making sure he was alert. That wasn’t something that could ever be un-taught. So, just like his father taught, he grabbed the knife that he always kept within reaching distance and threw it at the doorway with unparalleled precision.

It was only when Adonis dodged it by using his telekinesis that Alex even realized it wasn’t his dad or an intruder. He didn’t apologize, though, and he didn’t feel guilty. Who just busts into someone’s room? So he reached for his prosthetic and started to quickly put it on even though he didn’t know what was going on.

Michael woke up at that moment and lazily started rambling in Antarian. Adonis had already locked the door behind him and was in the process of moving Michael’s armoire in front of the singular window in his room. All that told Alex was that something was wrong and so he picked up the pace.

Adonis answered Michael in clipped Antarian, his voice rugged in a way that it never was and chills covered Alex’s skin. He grabbed the pants that he’d worn the night before and the wrap, putting them on as quickly as he could.

“What?” Michael asked, still in a different language but Alex understood that much. Alex started towards the door to retrieve his knife. 

Adonis answered him in that same rough tone, sparing Alex a glance as he did so. Most of the words flew over his head, but he’d overheard enough Antarian’s speak about him that he caught one word. His whole body froze and he looked over at Adonis, feeling every bit of that soldier his father had raised slowly build back up inside him. He’d tried so hard to not be that person anymore, but at the simple word ‘Prince’ there was no keeping it at bay.

“Kyle?” Alex asked carefully, voice devoid of emotion, “Is he alive?”

Adonis sighed and turned to him, an apologetic look in his eyes.

“Yes,” he answered in English, “He was shot at, but the bullet just grazed the side of his head. From where we think the shooter was standing, it looks like it was meant to be a direct execution-style shot, but it was swerved at the last minute when they realized they had the wrong prince.”

Alex lifted his chin.

“How do you do know it was because they had the wrong prince?” Alex asked. Truthfully, he knew he was right. No one wanted to assassinate Kyle. On both planets, the Valentis were well loved. Jim listened to his people and accommodated them and that made him easy to respect and appreciate. Kyle was an extension of that and he was loved even more. Alex was like, sure, but he had one person who would be willinging to put a hit out on him and he couldn’t be shocked to discover it finally happened.

“It’s a theory, but we don’t know why it would’ve missed if it hadn’t been and then there wasn’t a follow up shot,” Adonis explained.

“Right,” Alex said, nodding curtly, “I’ve got to go.”

“What?!” Michael nearly squeaked and Adonis shot him a look to tell him to be quiet, “You’re not going anywhere when there’s someone out there that wants to kill you!”

“I already know who it is,” Alex said, “Or, who paid them. My father isn’t stupid enough to do it himself.”

“Your father?” Michael asked, “Why would the king‒”

“Michael,” Adonis said sharply. Michael looked up at him and then back over to Alex.

“You aren’t going anywhere. Stay here. It’s safe here,” Michael said. Alex huffed a laugh.

“And willingly put you in danger? Absolutely not. You’re already in danger by being affiliated with me.”

“But why would it be your dad, Alex?” Michael asked, slowly stumbling out of bed, “I mean, you got adopted years ago, why the hell would he wait to do it now? And on a different planet? That doesn’t make any sense.”

Except it did make sense. If Michael knew the first thing about his father, then it would make complete sense. But he didn’t. Because Alex didn’t share. He didn’t share anything. He’d enjoyed so much that Michael never asked any questions or prodded, but now it seemed he waited too long for an explanation and all the questions were coming at once.

“It doesn’t matter, I need to go,” Alex said.

“Wait,” Adonis said firmly, his eyes closed as he honed in on whatever other guards were telling him telepathically, “They found the guy. Hired assassin. Give up your dad’s name easy.”

“I believe that,” Alex said. Michael was still staring at him, still waiting for him to explain or do something worthwhile. Alex didn’t have anything to give him.

“Alex,” Michael called softly, holding out a hand to him in hope he’d come back to bed. But Alex was awake and needed to go be with his family. “It’s alright.”

“We’ll talk later,” Alex said, nearing him and giving him a kiss on the forehead, “Luke should be waiting to walk me back.”

“No,” Michael argued, grabbing his hand and holding him in place. Fear shot through Alex’s body at the act, that siren going off in his mind that told him he was trapped. He yanked his hand away and glared at Michael who looked pathetic. Maybe Alex was wrong to think being with a man who’s issues paled in comparison to his was a good idea. He would never understand. “Alex, there could be more than one assassin. Stay until light. Someone could hurt you.”

“Let them try,” he said cooly and he left Michael’s room. Adonis followed to make sure he would be okay, but Luke was waiting at the door. His face was stoic, but he had bags beneath his eyes and a set jaw that told him it’d been a long night.

He led the way back to the visitor’s building where Kyle was being patched up by the medic that resided on the royal’s grounds. They were both on high alert the whole walk, but Alex assumed it was probably for drastically different reasons.

“His Majesty is handling the assassin with Lady No and Sir Heinar. They’re trying to see who failed so spectacularly at their job,” Luke said. Alex breathed a tight sigh as he sat on the bed. Kyle was leaning back in bed with drugged eyes.

“I’m so sorry,” Alex told him.

“Why? If you were here, you would’ve died,” Kyle said, voice slurred by whatever they’d given him. Alex shook his head.

“I would’ve preferred that over you getting hurt in my absence,” Alex said.

“Oh, fuck off,” Kyle scoffed. Alex managed a smile. “You getting laid is clearly a lifesaver, so that thank the prince for me, will you?”

Alex’s eyes widened at his brazen statement in front of  ears that didn’t deserve it. He glanced at the medic who was stitching up the side of Kyle’s head. They seemed unphased by the admission. 

“Do not worry,” they said, voice thick with an accent that made Michaels’ seem nonexistent, “I am a royal medic for a reason.”

Alex took that as a promise of their lips staying sealed. He turned his attention back to Kyle.

“Where is Prince Boy Toy anyway? Is he all worried about you?” Kyle mocked. Alex rolled his eyes. 

“I don’t care about that,” Alex insisted. Kyle quirked a lazy eyebrow.

“Huh? You don’t care that he cares about you?”

“He was a bad idea,” Alex said simply. Kyle snorted.

“Well, yeah, at first, but he’s good for you. Makes you less of a rock,” Kyle said. Alex barely had time to process that before Kyle changed the subject. “Can’t believe your dad tried to kill you. I knew he was an asshole, but, damn.”

“I just can’t understand how he got an Antarian to go through it. Isn’t he still in prison? How did he even pull that off?” Luke asked. Kyle scoffed and they both started brainstorming ways. Alex slowly tuned out the conversation.

His entire life, his father had haunted him. He trained him to be a soldier in all the ways he knew how: tying Alex down and making him figure out how to escape, wrapping a rope around his stomach and having him lug objects like cattle, tying weights to his ankles to make sure he could always run even in times in distress, and that only scratched the surface. He put his hands on him when he didn’t act like he was taught and he had since was little. It only got worse as Alex got older, covering his body in scars until he got to the worst of them all: his leg. During a training session, he’d tied thin wires to each of his limbs. It took Alex hours to get them off, but, by the time he got to his last leg, it’d been virtually impossible to salvage. His ankle had already been broken three times and now it had a severe loss of blood flow. They said they could try to save it, but he’d probably be in pain forever. They made the unanimous decision that it had to go. Which is when Jim finally had enough.

But the damage was done. Alex had already been littered with scars that would never heal, mentally and physically. Alex still remembered his father mocking Antarians for the way they dressed and everything they showed. Part of him wondered if that’s why he was so deliberate about the scars‒with them there, he would never show off his body like that and never get the attention he wanted from other boys. He still got it though. That only seemed to make his father more angry. How dare his only son have an interest in other boys, who would carry on the family name? 

The thing was, Alex had biological brothers. None of them really survived his father’s torture like he did. They either broke under the pressure or they really didn’t survive. Alex was resilient though, he was his father’s favorite, he was the golden boy. And wasn’t that just impossible to comprehend? How could he be the favorite and yet still treated that way?

It was even harder to think that he was lucky. Sure, he still couldn’t look at himself in the mirror and he got uncomfortable when men gave him attention and he still couldn’t let Michael touch him in so many places, but he was lucky. And his father knew that. And he was angry.

And his voice was still in Alex’s mind. It made it impossible to accept Michael’s sentiments that he wanted him for more than something temporary. That was painting a target on his back and Alex knew it.

“Alex,” Luke said, pulling him out of his head, “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” Alex said simply, blinking away the memories that made his blood run cold, “But do you think we could arrange a private meeting between me and my dad when we get back on Earth?”

Luke eyed him strangely.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

“Do you have a better one?” 

And he didn’t, so Alex slipped back into his mind.

-

Michael’s mind stayed on Alex for so long that it was becoming a problem.

They’d never parted on such tense and negative terms before and Michael had convinced himself that Alex hated him and never wanted to see him again. It was just not good. He’d messaged him twice, but he got nothing in return. It really felt like he hated him. He didn’t know whether he was angry or if something bad had happened. Surely someone would’ve told him if another assassin had gotten to him, right?

“Come here.”

Michael lifted his head to see his mother in the doorway. Her face was as unreadable as ever, just like Alex, and her dark hair had been slicked back in a low bun. She wore all black wraps, inches of her stomach and arms exposed. They were tighter than usual which told him she’d been sparring. Despite that, he obeyed her and stood from the table to go hear her. She placed her hand on his cheek and looked into his eyes as if that would betray all of his feelings. And maybe  it did.

She guided his head to rest in the crook of her neck and she hugged him tight. She had a few inches on both him and his father, but Michael didn’t mind. He quite liked knowing she would always be taller than him. She would always be so clearly his mom.

“Did the assassination attempt really scare you this much?” she asked, combing through his hair like she’d done as long as he could remember. He relaxed into her and shook his head. “Then what’s wrong? You’ve been quiet.”

Michael didn’t know what to tell her. He was a terrible liar, nothing would sell as well as the complete truth. But the truth was scary too. What he and Alex were doing wasn’t really allowed. Antar and Earth being friendly was one thing‒but their young princes having an affair? He couldn’t imagine his mother, or the people of either of their respective planets, loving that.

“Alex won’t talk to me,” Michael offered, hoping that would be enough.

His mother breathed slowly and controlled. He didn’t move.  She was thinking and probably piecing everything together. Michael said nothing.

“Was there a reason Prince Alex wasn’t in the building when the shot was fired?” Lady No asked, but it was clear she already knew the answer. Michael sunk into her more.

“He was with me,” he confirmed. She sighed.

“Oh, baby,” she whispered, clutching him tight, “What have you done?”

“I didn’t mean to,” he insisted, his voice cracking, “I swear, it wasn’t on purpose. I can’t help it.”

“I know you didn’t,” she murmured, “But you still did it.”

“I want to go study on Earth,” Michael said firmly. He felt his mother suck in a deep breath. “I want to be closer to him.”

Lady No pulled away and grabbed his face in her hands. Michael let her stare and gauge how serious he was being. Because he was serious. Deadly. It didn’t matter that Alex wasn’t speaking to him. If he was on the same planet, he could get him to talk.

“Alex is the son of a very hostile man, Michael. He put a hit out on his own child, do you understand that?” she said. He nodded and she harshly let go of him. “Do you have a deathwish?”

“No,” Michael said firmly, “But I know what I want. I want Alex.”

She scoffed, shaking her head, “You have no idea what you’re saying.”

“Yes, I do,” he insisted, “I’m not a child, I know what I want.”

“Do you know anything about Alex? Do you know why he was adopted or why his father is imprisoned? Do you know anything?” she demanded. Michael swallowed as he looked at her. She was angry.

Michael very quickly realized that he didn’t know much. He and Alex avoided talk of anything of substance and he didn’t ask. The only time he’d asked anything real or they spoke of anything real was that last night they were together. Otherwise, he really didn’t know Alex that well.

But that wasn’t fully true either. He knew Alex. Maybe he didn’t know his past, but he knew did well in school and had great aspirations to be a good ruler. Maybe he didn’t know how he got all of his scars, but he knew which ones upset him the most based on what he could stand being touched and what he couldn’t. Maybe he didn’t know what Alex’s father did to him, but he knew he hated him and that was enough to make Michael agree. He didn’t know him enough to write a biography, but he knew enough to love him and wasn’t that enough?

“I know he’s unhappy and probably scared,” Michael said, “And I know I want to study on Earth.”

Queen Celeano took a step away from her son and closed her eyes. He waited patiently, fully expecting her to pull him into his mindscape so he would be easier to mold. But that didn’t happen. Instead, she opened her eyes and looked at him straight on.

“You are my child. My duty, above all else, is to keep you safe. I can’t do that if you’re on Earth. I’m sorry, but no,” she said simply, shaking her head, “Not while I know you’re affiliating yourself with a man who has a target on his back.”

“We’re discreet!” he insisted, “No one knows and no one will know! It’s no one’s business but mine and his!”

“You’re young, you’ll change your mind. You’ll find a nice Antarian and‒”

“No,” Michael said, firmer this time. He could feel Adonis hovering close by in case he needed to interfere. “I want Alex. And maybe it’s not forever, but if you force me to give him up, I will always feel forever about him and I will always blame you.”

She stared at him, long and serious. He wondered if this was why he liked Alex so much. His mother had instilled something in him that took that controlling seriousness and made him love it. It was never an insult. He took it as a silent ‘I love you’. 

“I will talk to your father and I will talk to James,” she said. Michael’s eyes widened.

“Wait, don’t tell them about‒”

“I won’t,” she said firmly, “But we’ll discuss schooling. And I’m sending you with more than just Adonis because I don’t trust Alex’s father.”

“But you trust me?” he said. Lady No took a deep breath and stepped back up to her son.

“I trust you,” she agreed, “But I don’t trust his father and I refuse to have my son return to me in a body bag. So I’ll see what I can do, but please, please be safe.”

Michael nodded in agreement and kept his smile at bay despite the fact he wanted to run through the halls screaming his joy.

“Always.”

-

“Are you sure about this?”

“Absolutely.”

Alex waited as the guards hesitantly unlocked the doors to the interrogation room they had his father in specifically for this meeting. He was being put on trial again for attempting to assassinate a member of the royal family, but that didn’t mean it would be impossible for Alex to get him alone. Jesse Manes had been patted down and checked over multiple times to make sure he had no weapons and he was handcuffed to his chair, but Alex still felt on edge.

On edge, but more powerful than ever.

He had been spending the last week trying to think of what he was going to say to finally sever this tie to his father, but, when he saw his face, all of that went out the window. But he had to do this. He had to if he ever wanted something good in his life. Something like Michael.

“Hello, son,” Jesse said as Alex stepped inside. Luke was close behind him. Alex had tried to get him to stay back, but he insisted he was going to be right there with him so he wasn’t alone. Alex didn’t know how to say no to that. 

“Dad,” Alex greeted, waiting until the door slammed behind them. Luke leaned beside the door in quiet solidarity. “Took you five years.”

“Not from lack of trying,” he said simply. It was surprising, but Alex still felt that pang of hurt. “You’ve stopped training, I know you have.”

“I haven’t, actually,” Alex said, “I spar every day that my leg allows. I just don’t endure torture.”

“What I did to you wasn’t torture. It was what you needed to become a good soldier, to rise up and finally end that fucking peace treaty. There’s nothing peaceful about it. It’s complacency,” he said. Alex shook his head and stepped closer.

“It isn’t,” Alex said, “They’re good people.”

“They aren’t people.”

“No, you aren’t a person,” Alex shot back, “What kind of person tries to kill their own son?”

“He wasn’t really meant to kill you,” Jesse offered, “You were supposed to kill him when he tried.”

Alex huffed a laugh, shaking his head, “Why am I not surprised that you think that’s better?”

“I spent fifteen years dedicating my life to you, Alex, you’re my son and I love you,” Jesse said. Alex held his chin high and tried not to let those words hit like they so desperately wanted to. “What don’t you see? You’re my pride and joy. Look at you. Infiltrating the royal family on both planets. Do you know what you could do at this rate? You could do wonderful things if you just stayed on track like I raised you.”

“Bold thing to say with witnesses,” Alex said. Jesse shook his head.

“I raised you,” Jesse repeated, “There are only witnesses if you let them be.”

They fell silent for a moment as Alex stared at him and tried to come up with the right thing to say. This was supposed to be empowering, but instead it felt more like he was just opening himself to more manipulation. But he refused. So, instead, Alex unbuttoned the jacket he was wearing and let it fall to the floor. His father eyed the gold wrap made of Antarian silk that was wrapped around his torso.

“What are you doing?” Jesse asked slowly. Alex took a deep breath.

“My entire life you shamed me for the scars you left on my skin. You taught me to hide from them and from what I wanted. But I refuse to listen to you. I refuse to let you stay in my brain, taunting me and making it difficult to let men touch or admire me. Because I want them to touch and admire me. How does that feel, Dad?”

Jesse’s jaw clenched at his words, but Alex felt no guilt. He felt quite the opposite. There was something freeing about getting under his skin.

“That doesn’t make me weak,” Alex continued, “I’m far from weak. I survived you. I can never be weak.”

“If you’re not weak, then you can ignore disrespectful desires,” Jesse said. Alex huffed.

“Disrespectful to who? Not me. And if it’s disrespectful to you, then I don’t care. I refuse to care. I spent so many years of my life trying to be the perfect son, trying to make you proud. And the sad thing is that I did. I was the son you wanted. Except for one little thing,” Alex said. His fingers skimmed the silk, begging it to give him strength. And it did. It felt like laying in Michael’s bed, like being wrapped up in a place where no one could hurt him. He felt invincible. “And I’m done being ashamed and scared.”

“I disagree.”

“Good luck with that,” Alex said, “Because I’m putting in a good word to have you executed.”

“My father is dead and he still lives in my mind, Alex,” Jesse said, smiling a smile that looked too much like Alex’s, “You can kill me, but I’ll never be dead.”

“Maybe not. But I’ll sure as hell do what I can to make sure I never end up like you,” he said simply, “I’m going to be a good king. I’m going to be kind. I’m going to love and be loved. I’m going to have a man in my bed, Antarian men in my bed. And there’s nothing you can do about it.”

“Spite only lasts so long,” he spat.

“Don’t wait and see how long that is.”

Alex decided he was over the conversation and turned to leave, hoping Luke grabbed his jacket on the way out. He didn’t notice his hands were shaking until he got around the corner and Luke draped the jacket over his shoulders.

“Did you get the closure you needed?” Luke asked. Alex sucked in a deep breath and looked up at him. He didn’t really feel that different other than the fact that he felt like he needed to throw up.

“I guess I’ll just have to wait and find out.”

-

Michael arrived on Earth after three weeks of not hearing from Alex, but that was alright. He was going to take advantage of his time there.

The main reason for coming was for some big party that Michael didn’t really care about, but it was doubling as a time to enroll him in a school on Earth. The same school Alex was going to. He would be returning in a few months at the start of the next semester and, if he and Alex weren’t on good terms by then, then he would spend all of his free time trying to get them on good terms.

What he didn’t expect, however, was for Alex to give him a bright smile when they pulled up to the palace. There were cameras around so they didn’t hug, but Alex greeted him with a handshake that made his mind feel like fireworks were going off.

The next few hours were agonizingly slow and full of small talk. By the time Luke was leading him to Alex’s bedroom, he was already losing his mind trying to figure out what exactly was about to happen.

He was welcomed into Alex’s room and then they were alone. Alex was clothed in his stiff dress pants and his stiff white button up, but he looked nice. He always looked so nice.

“Hi,” Michael said.

“Hey,” Alex said right back. He stepped up to him and gave him that sweet smile that he always had for him. It was jarring considering their last encounter.

“I’m sorry about the last time I saw you,” Michael said, “I shouldn’t have grabbed your hand when I know you don’t like that. I know I sent you a U-Mail that said the same thing, but I keep thinking about it and it makes me feel worse every time. I’m so sorry.”

“It’s alright, you were scared,” Alex said simply, eying him. Michael waited for him to say more, but he didn’t. So he finally asked a question.

“Alex… What’s going on?” he asked, “With us, I mean.”

“Last time we spoke, you said you wanted to be with me. Do you still feel that way?” Alex asked. Michael’s eyes widened, but he nodded. It seemed too deceptively easy, but it was Alex and he would jump into an endless pit if Alex thought it was a good idea. “Then I think we should talk.”

“Talk?”

“Talk,” Alex confirmed, nodding to his bed, “About anything. I think I owe you some honesty. I felt I had too much baggage for you, so I never shared, but you were kind to me for four years not knowing why I acted that way. So I think it’s time I let you in a little more.”

“Seriously?” Michael breathed. It felt too good to be true.

“Seriously,” Alex laughed, “I’m so tired of hiding from you.”

The two of them sat down on the bed facing each other and not touching. But then Alex held out his hand. Blood pumped in Michael’s ears, but he slowly reached out his hand towards Alex’s. Alex carefully laced their fingers together and rested it on his knee. They didn’t do that. But this was progress. So much progress.

And all Michael could feel was pride.

[akimmito]

Heroes are made by the path they choose

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Master List

Chapter 19

Damian is not happy. Everyone has introduced themselves and it only remains for the two intruders to do so as well, he hopes they refuse to be part of this, but from Drake's enthusiasm, clearly his wishes will not be heard and the two vigilantes will be part of the MT in some way or other.

"Well, it seems serious..." Nightwing hesitates for a moment, but does it anyway, it's the first time that he gives his identity in this way, remembering that they don’t just give their identities, but the MT has trusted them and it seems that their Working method differs a lot from Batman's. "I'm Richard Grayson, you can call me Dick."

"Yeah, we're not doing that." Alix responds with an amused smile.

"So you're Tim, right?" Marinette asks Robin, who nods and removes his mask. "This will be easier then."

"Was the suit delay related to the MT?"

"Something like that." She answers vaguely, but it's Alix who breaks the mysterious air of the matter.

"Stealing museums is not something that is directly related to our vigilante jobs."

Dick looks in surprise between the pink haired girl and the bluenette, who just sighs. He's no stranger to robbery when necessary, just that they admit it so casually is disconcerting. Tim on the other hand, he knows that he will not be very comfortable with the information.

"Do you rob museums?" Tim asks a bit dubious, that's not something he would have expected considering his participation in similar cases taking down robberies and other similar crimes, he didn't think they would commit them.

"Oh yes, my next dream is to rob a Russian museum." Felix responds wryly, but takes his next sentence more seriously. "It's not something we do for pleasure. First we will explain what MT is and then you will understand better why we rob a museum… It will give me a headache."

"Security was dire for supposedly keeping such valuable objects." Damian scoffs, leaning back in his chair, not looking at his brothers. "I would have done a better job while I sleep."

Dick just looks at the boy curiously, did they take him with them? Surely he goes to school, right? Although it not was school day when they first met him and he was at the farmhouse, he's probably homeschooled alongside his monstrous dogs, you can still feel his paws on his face. He doesn't really know what to think of such a brilliant woman being a vigilante, although perhaps he's taking too much reference from Bruce and Oliver who are the complete opposite, he's not exactly a good reference himself either even though he's less grim than the original Batman.

Marie Lenoir and, in general, the majority in that room seem to her very healthy emotionally speaking or, at least, not constipated like him and all his brothers.

"We'll explain it in detail later. Chloe, can you start?

"Sure, Lenoir." She smiles as she calls her last name in her common haughty tone, which has become a way of joking between them. "For the public, the MT is the name of the vigilante organization and which is not related in any way to the heroes, which is not true. The MT is originally the group of heroes… turned into vigilantes to be able to investigate the whereabouts of the butterfly without raising suspicions."

"We haven't done very well, he's a slippery shit." Alix complains getting a little hit from Nathaniel.

"There are kids."

"I've heard worse things, Kurtzberg." Damian dismisses his concerns dismissively. Marinette just gives him a worried look, it's seen that he is holding back from saying something more offensive, he seems about to attack everyone and is worrying. He's been acting very defensive for a few days now.

"Stop saying my last name as if it were an insult."

"Then stop being an idiot, Kurtzberg."

Luka sighs, he's normally a very patient and understanding person, but everyone is a little nervous, easily excitable, they haven't been that nervous since God Shit and Not in Hell joined the team, due to the fact that one is a demon and the other a stranger to most except Marinette (and Felix apparently).

"Returning." Kagami is not willing to put up with everyone's way of acting, but she won't scold them either, surely Felix will have words with everyone and Marinette will take care of Damian. "We are the heroes, we all have magical knowledge and the MT is an organization destined to protect the Miraculous, the magical jewels that give us our powers. Our main mission is to recover the butterfly and watch over the other jewels, whether we have them in our possession or not. The museum robbery was the recovery of the Giraffe's Miraculous."

"Wow, what a good summary," Marc comments by how concise it was, his good humor is not overshadowed by the tension in the room.

"Mari-hime is the Great Guardian, the leader of the entire organization and the most important member of the TM. She is the only one who knows all the spells, potions and cares for jewels and Kwami."

“We don't all have an affinity for being full guardians, especially since we're too old to complete some parts of the training. We may not approve of the ways they did it back in the day, but it takes young spirits to mold compatibility with Guardian magic. Melody completed a large part of her training at the age of fourteen and later continued it with all the knowledge of the temple together with the assistance of some Kwami."

"So you're the heroes too? And they do double duty to keep the city safe… They've been fighting since they were fourteen… ”Marc interrupts Tim from his little review

"Marinette has been doing it since she was thirteen."

"You started alone, right?" Dick asks, he wants confirmation that she didn't have a mentor, but still can't imagine what it must have been like for her to be thrown into danger like that.

"Chat was there, but it was just us. It wasn't until sometime after that I met the Guardian, but it wasn't a guide as such… ”She says thoughtfully, remembering her beginnings as Ladybug. She didn't do her part either, she had settled into just fighting with the Akuma and hoping for some miracle that could reveal Hawkmoth's identity, along with many other things she regrets.

"It's still a great feat, I couldn't have." Tim admits, since he decided to become Robin only because he saw the need to be one to help Batman, otherwise it was not a battle worth fighting. "So what are the Miraculous?"

"Magic jewels connected to quasi-divine entities, they embody abstract concepts such as creation, destruction, emotions, etc. They are called Kwami, unfortunately the connection with the jewel makes them slaves of whoever owns it and it cannot be avoided that their powers are used for evil purposes if they fall into the wrong hands. "Marinette explains in the simplest way she can.” I have been investigating, but there is nothing in the Order's records of any way around control over the Kwami."

"And destroy the jewel?" Dick questions, it's something important if she is saying it, so it's better to understand, although the idea of ​​magic jewels sounds to him straight out of an anime.

"They agreed to anchor themselves to the jewels to be able to have contact with the world in a more personal way, it's what allows them to have a corporeal form and relate to the environment instead of just existing isolated ... The only thing that can have contact with the world material are their powers, but they as an entity are not. At first they considered it a small price for the opportunity to live with their creations, but the slavery that it brought with it was a long-term impediment ... In any case, only the power of Plagg can destroy the jewels, but for magical reasons he cannot do the same with his own jewel."

"Silly if you ask us," Chloe complains. They actually read the temple books, the ones God Shit recommended to them and even Alix traveled with Fluff's help to different times to discover secrets that might have been lost, but nothing in relation to magical slavery, although they didn't go as far as to meet the magician who created the Miraculous, they feel that it's not advisable to do that.

"Maybe we should blackmail Luci into seeing if he knows anything…" Nathaniel mutters, earning a snort from Marc.

------

John: I'll arrive in Paris tomorrow, I found some old books that mention the Kwami

John: I think you will like them, they could help us with our research

John: I also bring a gift for your son

John: I don't know if he mentioned it

John: [Photo attached]

Marie: Where will I put that?!

Marie: John!

John: He didn't mention it to you. Well it's a peace offering

Marie: It's very sweet of you, but I also didn't know that you guys have been talking.

John: I knew he wouldn't tell you anything, the little monster.

John: I guess you don't know who came here either, right?

Marie: No! No wonder he acted so strange, he felt guilty. I can not believe it

Marie: I can't be angry either

John: Why should you? He's taking care of you and, for now, it's the only way he knows

John: It will get better, you have that effect on people

Marie: You’re sweet

------

The meeting continues in an uncomfortable environment, if someone hints that they are fully functional adults, anyone in the room would quickly tell them they are wrong. Against their better judgment, neither knows how to proceed. It's usually Marinette who knows what to do, but neither she nor Felix are entirely sure how to proceed from there.

"So… we all agree that we shouldn't say anything to the other Batman?" Nathaniel breaks the ice, looking doubtfully at everyone.

They're a bunch of awkward adults, that's for sure.

"That is obvious, Kurtzberg. The important thing about this ridiculous meeting is to know if they are useful for our interests. So, speak up, what can you bring to this partnership? We are giving them access to one of the greatest secrets in the world, an immediate support team and, above all, a network of reliable contacts around the world. ”Damian folds his arms and looks down at his two older brothers.

Dick looks up to see the boy, who seems very confident in his words and, despite various expressions to the boy's words, cannot say that he's being arrogant about it. Tim is the one answering.

"I offer myself. I've been designing tech updates for Batman, but there are some devices that would fit his surveillance better than ours. "He starts going through his files and Marinette gets up to hand him one of the computers Max uses for data presentation, which are designed to withstand the information traffic that they usually handle in most of their cases. "Oh thanks."

She sits back and watches him set up his own technology with Max's, feeling very excited by the clear differences and surprised when Markov makes an appearance.

"Who you are?"

"Markov, that's Timothy Drake. Let him play on the computer, he wants to show us something. "

"Okay, I thought someone had got hold of some piece of technology. I'll let Dima supervise it."

Dick watches in surprise as the settings return to normal and the screen returns to the files Tim was manipulating in order to present them to others.

"Was that an AI?" Richard questions.

"The question is stupid, obviously it was."

"Damian." Marinette places a hand on her son's head and gives him a firm little look, silently asking him to avoid attacking his apparent paternal family. "That was Markov, the artificial intelligence designed by Max, he's a great ally in research because of his ease of hacking without being detected. He's joined by Dima, the one in charge of guarding the complex and taking care of the Kwami that rest in the box."

"Does he have emotions? That's great. Wait... did you say Max? Max Kanté?"

"The only one" Max walks in just then, grabbing his own laptop and picking an empty seat at random. Tim just stares with his mouth open.

How not meet the genius who designed a robot capable of feeling emotions at thirteen? The guy is quite a celebrity in the scientific world! He founded KanTech at the age of eighteen and is currently a major multi-branch business rival to Wayne Enterprise. In a way, that he's the one designing the MT technology makes perfect sense.

"I don't want to interrupt, but there is an Akuma."

The MT, in a synchronized way, complains in its own way. Damian insults the man behind the mask, Felix complains about it being night, Chloe exclaims about the bad time to do it, Kagami mutters how annoyed it is, Nathaniel is just a long wail with a comforting whisper from Marc.

"Hurry up, let's see what he has prepared for us this time. Team, Kagami, Chloe, Felix and I will go. The others, wait to be called."Those mentioned stand up just in time for the Kwami to appear, which is Pollen hands the comb to its owner, while Wyazz nods to the blonde who is taking off his jacket and gloves to reveal the miracle bracelet.

Marinette also removes the glove where the ring is hidden. The four of them transform in front of the foreign vigilantes, surprising them by seeing the transformation.

In front of him were no longer the vigilantes but the heroes of Paris.

[hauntedbythefanficsofmypast]

Raise Your Voice Against Liars

By BeeTeeDubya14 & Naruwitch On Archive of Our Own

@thebigpapilio asked me if I accepted submissions and I do! This is a Miraculous + Persona 5 crossover, that they have been working on with their friend! While I don't actually know Persona 5, I read over the first chapter and found it very interesting! I thought for sure you'd all enjoy it as much as I did! So here is the first chapter! If you like it please go on to Archive of Our Own and give them some love!!

"We all wear masks, and the time comes when we cannot remove them without removing some of our own skin."

-Andre Berthiaume

Chapter 1: L'Interrogatoire

Sae leaned back, puzzled by what the prisoner just said, “So the Phantom Thieves only stole the heart of Futaba Sakura…? And Medjed was in turn defeated by her real-world hacking abilities…? Well, this does correlate to the facts as we know them…” 

Sae grew quiet, and her next sentence was mostly to herself, though she said it aloud. “If he’s telling the truth, then Wakaba Isshiki didn’t commit suicide… did a third party target her life with the goal of destroying her research? Wakaba’s death was two years ago… that also coincides with when the incidents started occurring… does this other Metaverse user that Madarame and Kaneshiro mentioned… really exist…?”

With a frown, she shook her head before turning her attention back to the captive, “Earlier I mentioned those psychotic breakdown incidents that have alarmed the public. All of a sudden, people will lose consciousness, or become violent… A situation as incomprehensible as that can’t be explained away as ‘troubled social conditions.’ I suspect that these cases are all connected to a larger, man-made plot. The method involved always muddled the explanation, but your story has virtually confirmed its viability. Although, I wouldn’t have expected a new criminal to come to light from your testimony…” Sae leaned closer to the prisoner, “What did your group think of this other Metaverse user?”

“You mean the true criminal?” he questioned.

Sae scoffed, “How self-centered of you. The Phantom Thieves tamper with people’s hearts without asking consent. How is that different?”

Sighing, Sae then continued to focus on the prisoner. “Well… no matter how you thought of them, there can be no doubting your resolve. Are those incidents because of you or someone else…? Either way, I will get to the bottom of this.”

Sae shook her head, and pulled out her briefcase again, “Now let’s move on to your next crime.” She pulled out a folder, just as she had the last four times and laid it in front of the teenager, “Lila Nikenna Rossi. An Italian student who was studying at Collège Françoise Dupont in Paris, France. This is the first known report of the Phantom Thieves targeting someone outside of Japan. Your testimony regarding this incident will be serious. I’m sure you understand why. Not only is she your first foreign target, but also the youngest target out of all that the Phantom Thieves have changed the heart of. Answer me carefully. Why did you go after her?”

Despite all the grogginess afflicting him, Akira Kurusu managed to faintly grin.

“We owed some good people a favor.”

Chapter 2: Wake up, Get up, Get Out (Of) There

"Are you sure you're going to be okay in Hawaii, Marinette?"

"Yes, Luka, I'll be fine," Marinette smiled as she pulled her luggage off the security belt.

"Remember, if you need to talk, at any time, please do it, okay? I don't care if it's 2 AM over here. If you need-"

"Luka, you're treating me like a child," Marinette said bluntly, but no heat was behind it.

The guitarist gasped on the other line, "No, no! That's not what I was implying, I just-"

Marinette giggled. That's one of the things she really liked about Luka. "That overprotective attitude isn't going to change anytime soon, is it?" That said, although there were times where he went a little overboard, he usually knew Marinette's limits. It seemed that he needed a small reminder before she departed for her flight, though.

Ever since Chloe's stunt as Miracle Queen, she and Luka had been dating steadily for several months. After Adrien had made it official with Kagami, Marinette struggled to move on and accept that it was better to simply be friends with the model. She, of course, didn't want to use the older Couffaine as a fallback guy, and she had made that clear to him shortly before they made it official too, but… Luka had been there for her when no one else was. She had been in a dark place, and there seemed to be no way out. But Luka provided the light she needed to find the exit.

As for Chloe herself? Well… once word got out about Hawkmoth's near victory, and Chloe's involvement with it, many citizens and even government officials spoke out against the mayor and other members of his staff for action to be taken. The incident with the metro tunnel was also brought up, as Chloe was never adequately punished for intentionally endangering so many people. Mayor Bourgeois, to appease the masses, was forced to send Chloe away to a boarding school in Sweden, at least until Hawkmoth was finally dealt with. That's where she'd been for the past five months, and Marinette hadn't heard from the blonde since.

She shook her head, ridding herself of such thoughts before they could fester. She was going to Hawaii for crying out loud! And she was going to have a blast! Nothing was going to change that. Not Hawkmoth, not Lila, and her lies, nothing would get in her way of having a fun time.

The thought of Hawkmoth had her hand subconsciously wander to her purse, where Tikki and Kaalki were situated. She was so lucky (heh, that would garner a laugh from Chat) that Kwamis didn't show up on cameras, much less on airport security x-rays machines. She would have had a field day trying to explain that to a security guard.

Luka gave a breathy laugh over the phone, "Sorry, a force of habit. Sorry I couldn't be there to see you or Jules off personally."

Marinette smiled. That had been the original plan, but as luck would have it, Luka got called in for an emergency shift by his boss at the very last minute, and there were no other people who could fill in.

"No problem, sometimes life happens like that. Although, even on vacation, Hawkmoth's Akumas always have the worst timing."

She could see Luka wincing on the other line, "Yeah, considering that Hawaii is practically on the opposite side of the world, it looks like you're in for some long nights. So sorry, babe."

She had the news app on high alert at all times, so the second an Akuma alert went up, she'd teleport back to Paris to deal with the Akuma as quickly as possible. She was grateful that Luka would be on standby with Sass as well, especially when Chat Noir alerted her that he would be out of town for the weekend as well.

"Yeah…"

"Marinette! We're about to board! Please come and join the class!" Mme. Bustier called from the boarding gate.

"Gotta go, Luka, I'll text you when we land in Tokyo!"

"Okay, be safe! Love you!"

"Love you too!"

There were, fortunately, no accidents or disruptions as Marinette boarded the plane and found her seat. After buckling up, Tikki and Kaalki poked their heads out of her little purse. The bag was small enough that Marinette wasn't required to put it under the seat, so long as it stayed flung over her shoulder. The little red Kwami winked at her holder, and Kaalki nodded. Marinette smiled at her little companions and pretended to listen to the flight attendant give the safety instructions.

It wasn't long before she watched from her window seat the plane take off from the tarmac. Once the pilot said they were at cruising altitude, Marinette pulled out her MP3 player and headphones and leaned back with a smile, the soft melody of Luka's guitar strings lulling her to sleep.

o~o

Marinette was awakened by the thump of the plane landing.

As she traversed the airport "with" her classmates (they were all hanging around Lila and leaving her alone), she noticed a pattern in the dress of many passersby, most of which were likely Japanese locals given that they were in Japan at the moment. Black & red seemed to be a common staple at this airport, more than occasionally accompanied by the words "Take Your Heart" and a weird logo of a domino mask and top hat. The words "Phantom Thieves" were sprawled across many of the logos too.

Marinette wanted to ask around as to what it all meant, but she didn't know a lick of Japanese and had places to be, so she moved on. She'd just look it up at the hotel.

She sent a quick text to Luka to let him know she'd arrived safely and was on her way to the hotel they'd be staying at for the night. Then she switched to the web, typing "Phantom Thieves" into the search engine. She found quite a few interesting things in a place called the "Phan-Site." There was apparently a group of vigilantes out there in Japan - Tokyo, specifically - calling themselves "The Phantom Thieves" with the power to "change people's hearts" (which seemed to mean making said people confess their crimes. How that worked, Marinette had no idea). So far, the Phantom Thieves had only taken down four major targets, their names, and information listed on the site. Marinette didn't recognize any of them, but when she typed up the names, she was immediately glad that these people had had "a change of heart."

The first, theorized to be the Thieves' very first target, was a man Suguru Kamoshida. He was apparently an Olympic volleyball medalist that taught at a high school called Shujin Academy. The Thieves targeted him because it was revealed that he was physically abusing and even sexually assaulting several students at the school. One of them even tried to commit suicide right in front of the student body because of it. Thankfully, this student survived their attempt. According to separate reports, the school was well aware of the abuse but didn't do a thing to stop it. Then, about a week after the suicide attempt, Kamoshida confessed to everything! The abuse, the assaults, everything.According to reports, it was like he was a completely different person, almost like his personality had changed entirely. He was now being held on bail and awaiting trial. Marinette hoped he went away forever!

The second person was a former artist named Ichiryusai Madarame. (Now that she thought about it, she could have sworn she saw his name on some art pieces at the Louvre for a limited time Japanese exhibit). He cultivated his own fame and fortune by sacrificing the livelihood of children. He took young artists into his home, a tiny shack, and then stole and plagiarized their work, passing it off as his own. Apparently, one of his victims was his own foster son. Just like with Kamoshida, Madarame, shortly after one of his exhibits closed, confessed to these crimes, his personality having shifted completely. Even though he seemed to show remorse, Marinette hoped he got what he deserved. This man reminded her too much of Bob Roth, especially when he stole Kitty Section's music and her costume designs.

Next was Junya Kaneshiro. This target was apparently what really allowed the Phantom Thieves' popularity to take off. He was a mafia boss that even the local authorities were struggling to arrest, even though his crimes were common knowledge in the Shibuya area. Then suddenly, he one day turned himself into the police. This one didn't have as much information. The police apparently tried to keep the arrest on the down-low due to the circumstances. The only reason the public found out the Phantom Thieves were involved was because of an abundance of calling cards that were scattered all over Shibuya. Kamoshida and Madarame had received similar cards before they confessed as well.

Finally, and this happened about a week ago, a group of international hackers, under the name Medjed, attempted a cyberwar against the Phantom Thieves and Japan itself. They threatened to ruin Japan's economy through a cyber attack unless the Phantom Thieves surrendered and revealed their identities to the public. They had set a deadline and everything. Then, the day before the deadline would have expired, the Phantom Thieves apparently stopped them, as Medjed's website was hacked with the Phantom Thief logo all over the webpage. Whether that was done by the Phantom Thieves themselves, or an avid supporter, no one knew, but Medjed was stopped, and Japan's economy remained stable.

Despite being vigilantes, Marinette genuinely believed the Phantom Thieves were helping the public overall by exposing corruption like this. Who knew what would still be happening if these people were still allowed to roam free? She didn't know how the Thieves convinced these people to confess their crimes and had no clue what "steal your heart" meant, though she had a feeling it wasn't something natural. Their actions seemed to be non-violent, though. None of their victims showed signs of physical injury or torture when they confessed. That was likely another reason the Phantom Thieves were receiving so much public support.

Marinette had learned a lot about destiny from Fu (it still hurt a little bit not referring to him as Master, even in her head), and the fact she was temporarily in the place where something this momentous, something this clearly magical was going on… she needed to look into this. But how? Nobody knew who the Phantom Thieves were, much less what they looked like! You could supposedly communicate with them via a proxy on the Phan-site, but no one has officially met any of them face-to-face. They seemed to be masters of blending into the crowd, not to mention the police weren't getting solid leads either.

What was even more confusing was that Tikki and Kaalki didn't know anything about this whole thing either.

"I've never heard of "changing people's hearts" in the way it's described here," Tikki admitted, referring to the Phan-Site.

"Hmm… maybe Ziggy knows something? She's the kwami of Imagination, so she's the one most connected to the mind," Kaalki suggested.

"Alright, I'll talk to Ziggy when we get back to Paris," Marinette nodded. She hoped the Goat Kwami had a possible answer.

"Hmmm… I wonder if Kagami knows anything about them," Marinette wondered aloud, glancing over at Alix, who was snoring in the bed next to hers. Surprisingly, Alix had volunteered to room with Marinette, which shocked her. She and Alix were friends, but not like how she and Alya used to be. Now that she thought about it, though, Alix may still listen to Lila's stories, but it seemed to be more out of politeness than actual interest now. If anything, for the last month or so, when Alix and Lila interacted, the skater just looked bored with the Italian. Could it be that the skater was catching onto Lie-la's lies?

Deciding to check if her theory had merit, Marinette sent a text to the fencer, asking if she had heard of the Phantom Thieves or not. She got a reply a few minutes later. Kagami had heard of them, but she didn't know much about them either. She and her mother had been living in Paris for about a year and a half, and the Phantom Thieves had only surfaced only a few months ago, so she didn't have much information apart from a few Japanese news articles and some online searches.

Marinette sighed and began to put her phone away when an Akuma alert blew up her screen.

"Perfect timing, Hawkmoth," she muttered sarcastically as she got up and tiptoed to the bathroom. She turned on the light to make it look like she was simply using the toilet before letting the two kwamis slip out of her purse, "Let's deal with this quickly! Tikki, spots on!"

One magical transformation later, Ladybug stood in all her glory in the tiny Tokyo bathroom. She quickly pulled out Kaalki's glasses and slipped them on. "Tikki, Kaalki, unify!"

o~o

It was about thirty minutes later that Ladybug (Lady Horseshoe with both Miraculous active) stepped back into the hotel bathroom. By the time that she had gotten to the actual fight, Luka, clothed as his new hero alias Kobra, had managed to corner the Akuma and figure out where the item was. One Lucky Charm later, and two shots of Second Chance, according to the snake hero, the Akuma was purified, and everything returned to normal in Paris.

She was also equally grateful that Kobra seemed calm after the fight ended. There had been fights in the past that had left the hero shaking, eyes wide with barely masked horror. One fight had him clinging to Ladybug afterward for about two minutes before she convinced him to let go of her. Even after that, it had taken the night being alone, lots of tears, and cuddling for Luka to finally calm down and accept that everything was okay.

During these moments was when Marinette was reminded that the Snake Miraculous was sometimes considered the most dangerous of the Miraculous. Not only did it make the holder a problematic opponent in combat, but the mental load it carried for the holder itself could take its toll over time. Luka had seen some things as both Viperion and Kobra, some that took more time to process and work through than others.

It had taken Luka a while to understand that he could talk to someone about what was going on. Due to his own family dynamics, and his selfless nature, Luka wasn't used to talking about his own problems, and usually preferred to work through them on his own. Over time though, this wore the guitarist down, to the point that he couldn't hide it anymore. This was one of the factors that convinced Marinette, as the Guardian, to make Luka a permanent holder. Sass had been an excellent help for Luka to process the many 'bad endings' he was forced to witness as part of his power. However, there were sometimes days where talking to the little kwami wasn't enough, which was why the couple had the rule of calling the other whenever they needed to speak. Even if it was in the middle of the night.

Other factors contributed to this decision too, but Marinette was too exhausted to dwell on them for now as she snuck out of the bathroom. To her relief, Alix was still asleep and seemed oblivious to what had happened.

After grabbing a macaroon for Tikki and a sugar cube for Kaalki (both of which she picked up in Paris), Marinette quickly climbed into her own bed and was asleep within seconds.

[obsidianfr3sk]

The Origins (Chapter 6)

Summary:  Before the Renegades put an end to the Age of Anarchy, they were six kids trying to survive day by day in a city ruled by chaos and desolation. Is there a space for hope and kindness somewhere in Gatlon City? Maybe.

AO3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25123756/chapters/62695558

Tag list: @nodrianbcyes @blueraspberry-official @healing-winston-pratt @plain-jane-mclain @novas-tunnel-of-anxiety @novas-egg-beater @callumtreadwell

Notes at the end of the capter

The world we’re gonna make

Age of Anarchy

Year 10

After going to the comic shop, they walked a mile to reach Joe's Basket. Hugh opened the door and smiled at the man behind the counter. That apparently innocent move gave him an excuse to leave the door open, so an invisible Simon could enter without raising suspicions.

Follow the routine.

He looked at the few products that remained on the shelves. Probably the owner could not afford more merchandise or the suppliers were robbed. Hugh frequently saw cases of trucks carrying food being attacked by gangs or by Anarchists.

“Not that there is much difference between one and the other,” his aunt once said.

(Hugh repeated the same sentence a few days ago, and Simon found it “dangerously hilarious”.)

The man behind the counter was following him with his gaze as if he suspected Hugh was going to steal something. Most countermen did the same when he came in. They took advantage of that mistrust. Simon went to the other end of the store and put everything he could find (that was among the things allowed to steal) into his backpack, while Hugh distracted them.

He felt an invisible hand touch his shoulder. It was his signal to buy something and get the hell out of there. They never ended a robbery without buying something.

Hugh took a chocolate bar and put it on the counter.

“Two dollars.”

He took out the coins he had in his jacket pocket. Eighty cents.

“I don't have enough.” He smiled at him uncomfortably and turned around. “Sorry for the inconvenience”

“How is your aunt?” he asked him.

Hugh was caught off guard by that question.

“She was your aunt, wasn't she? The lady you came with the other time.”

He could hear Simon thinking, “How could you be such an idiot?”

“Yes. She is fine.”

“I'm glad that she's recovered.”

“She hasn't,” he blurted out.

“What do you mean?”

He didn't know why he had said that.

“We don’t know what she has,” he whispered.

“Why are you smiling?” the counterman asked, disturbed.

“Sorry.” Hugh put on a serious face again. “It's a defense mechanism.”

The counterman nodded.

“I understand. No one can afford medical care these days. Not like there's a lot of hospitals left anyways.”

Hugh laughed. Even if they could afford a hospital, he knew his aunt wouldn’t want to go. “Don't worry, honey, I'll be all right. I'm too stubborn to die.”

“Take the chocolate.”

“No, I couldn't.”

“Don't worry, no one's buying them. You are the first customer I've had today.”

“Really? It seems like everyone does their shopping here.”

“Roaches do,” he replied. “They came last night, took a lot, and paid nothing if you know what I mean.”

Hugh knew what he meant.

“Sorry.”

Simon slapped him on the shoulder.

“Take the chocolate,” insisted the man from the counter. “And tell your aunt I say hello.”

Hugh took it. He would definitely tell his aunt. Surely she would be happy to know the counterman had remembered her.

“Our family has always been characterized by our beauty,” she would say, arranging his blonde curls. It was the same line she said every time someone remembered her name or paid her a vague compliment about her appearance. “When you grow up, you will have all the girls behind you.”

Heather Everhart always was talking about what was going to happen when Hugh grew up. When he was little, she told him “I promise that when you grow up, I’ll tell you everything about your parents.” Fortunately, his aunt Heather wasn’t known as someone who didn’t keep her promises, so during his fourteenth birthday, Hugh walked the streets of Gatlon City, holding his aunt's arm, and wondering if she was taking him to a place where the answers about his past were. All those years, his aunt Heather refused to respond to his questions about them.

And now, he may finally know where he came from.

After a long walk, they arrived at the richest neighborhood in Gatlon City. It wasn’t anything like he had imagined. Yeah, it seemed a lot better than where he lived, but most of the houses were completely abandoned. His aunt walked swiftly without even stopping to admire the pretty houses that remained. Hugh forced himself to follow her example and keep going.

They finally stopped in front of the biggest mansion Hugh had ever seen. Its walls were covered by mold and climbing plants, the windows had been shattered, and the doors were stolen.

“What are we doing here?” he asked.

His aunt Heather pointed at the mailbox. Hugh removed the dust that covered it and revealed the name carved on it.

Everhart.

“Sit down, Hugh."

"Here in the sidewalk?"

"Yes. Don't worry about messing your clothes." He hesitated. The sidewalk looked unclean and dusty, and he was wearing his newest pair of jeans. "Come on, honey, it's not like you do your laundry."

He finally did it. Anything to get the answer he wanted.

Heather and Hugh Everhart were the richest and most popular kids at school. They did everything together, not only because they were twins, but they were also best friends.  Their paths divided when they went to college. She majored in theatre and he studied "something to do with politics".  Sometimes he made fun of her for choosing to pursue an art-related career, but she didn't care. Heather loved being a costume designer and was having a lot of work offers from Broadway shows.

When Hugh Everhart became mayor of Gatlon City, the power he now had started to change him, and his views about the prodigies did too. He started a campaign against them, even going as far as to start segregating public spaces and reinforcing the rule against prodigies attending to the same school as non-prodigies.

“It was a rule that already existed, but no one took it as seriously, and some school districts turned a blind eye when they discovered a child was a prodigy,” his aunt explained.

Then, Hugh asked about his mother.

“Oh, Anna was a friend of mine. She played the main role and was the most beautiful woman in the room. I introduced her to your father during the first Broadway productions I worked on. I will always regret that night,” she said. “They felt in love pretty quickly, got married the next year, and then you arrived.” Her smile disappeared. “Anna hadn’t been honest with your dad though.”

“Did she cheat on him?”

“No! No, no, no. Something worse. She didn’t tell him she was a prodigy until you were born.”

Hugh was starting to know how the story was going to end. He wanted her to stop, but at the same time, he wanted to know the truth, even if it hurt him.

So he let her finish.

“Your dad was pissed. He didn’t want anything to do with you, so he forced Anna to let you on my porch. The only thing she told me was she wanted you to be named after your father. Two days later, she died.”

“Did he kill her?”

Suddenly, his aunt stood up, took him by the arm, and started to get away from the house as fast as possible.

“Someone’s watching us,” she whispered.

Hugh looked at one of the houses. In its garden, a young woman was watching them go. They made eye contact, and she smiled. Her hair was curly and her skin was dark and soft. Hugh tried to smile back, but his aunt didn’t let him.

“Don’t look at her." She waited until they were out of the neighborhood to keep talking. “Look, I don’t know if he killed her," she mumbled. "They said it was suicide, and Anna had some problems, but your father and I never spoke again after that.”

Hugh didn’t like to think about his parents now. But it didn't matter, his family was perfect just the way it was. He, his aunt... and Simon.

Simon's dad had just left for work when they arrived. His sister was sitting in the living room, mesmerized by the old television they had. Mr. Westwood had managed to fix an old DVD player and Sophie was delighted with the cartoons she was now able to watch. They had kept the TV at low volume though. That way, the neighbors wouldn’t found out that they had a TV and wanted to break in.

“I'm here, Sophie,” Simon announced.

Sophie turned to see them. Hugh greeted her and she greeted him back. Then, he followed Simon into the basement.

“You shouldn't have stayed that long,” Simon said, dropping his backpack on the floor.

“It would have been more suspicious if it seemed like I was in a hurry to leave, don't you think?” he answered.

“We won’t go back there,” said Simon. “You’ll be recognized again.”

“You're right. I'm too handsome to be forgotten.”

“Nice. I think I'll keep your share of the loot just for that comment.”

“What do we have today?”

Five cans of beans, two of vegetables, one loaf of old bread, and three small boxes of pear juice.

When he first met Simon, Hugh was shocked to hear him say, “Now that I'm a prodigy, I'll be able to steal better.” First, he laughed, thinking it was a joke, but Simon remained serious.

Shortly afterward, his aunt's hand-made carpet business started to lose clients. All the money they could get was used to pay the bills. Hugh had never been so hungry in his life, so he asked Simon if he could help him get food.

“I could,” he replied with a shrug, "but you wouldn't like the way I get food, and I don't have any other idea."

“I will love any idea you have.”

Even if it means stealing.

“You will call the police if I tell you.”

“What police?” Hugh asked.

That the first time he heard Simon’s laugh. It was as wonderful as the first time he saw him smile.

“It's Sophie's birthday tomorrow, so I want the juice boxes,” Simon said. “It’ll be my gift”

Hugh did not answer. He still had his mind on Joe's Basket.

The store was empty because the Roaches were there. He imagined the terror the man behind the counter must have felt. Had a gun been pointed at his head? Did they hit him? Did they hurt him in any way? Did they threaten his family?

How long would it take to realize that things were missing from the shelves? Some never did, but once a lady noticed a bag of flour was missing as soon as they left her store. She grabbed Hugh's arm and demanded that he return what he had stolen from her. Luckily, Simon was carrying everything, and no one could see him. After several screams and threats, Hugh managed to convince the lady that he had taken nothing and let him go.

The man at the counter had no idea what he was doing when he gave him that free chocolate bar. He was giving his merchandise to a thief. Surely he would feel betrayed. He had had an act of kindness with someone, and that was how they paid him?

“Well, you can keep one box of pear juice,” said Simon, holding it out to him, “and a half loaf of bread. I would prefer that you keep all the vegetables. Sophie makes a big fuss when it's the only thing to eat.”

Hugh got out of his thoughts and took the chocolate out of his pocket.

“Here. It's for you."

Simon did not hesitate to accept it. He broke it in half and gave him the largest piece. It was a great sacrifice on his part because Simon loved everything that had chocolate. It was difficult to get, but every time Hugh saw it in a store, he bought a bar for Simon, and every time, Simon share it with him.

He wiped away the remnants of candy on his pants before taking the new Wonder Man number out of the paper bag. He sat down on one of the old cushions in the corner of the basement and began to read it.

Simon gazed at him with curiosity. Hugh noticed it but said nothing. He knew that Simon had no interest in the plot of The Fantastic Adventures of Wonder Man. He preferred The Scarlet Enchantress and the Phantom Feline, and read nothing but that, although they no longer produced any more numbers. Its creator had been killed after drawing the Scarlet Enchantress attacking Ace Anarchy with an energy hit.

Simon sighed and rubbed his eyes.

“Why are you so quiet?” he asked.

“I'm not.”

“Does it have something to do with the Roaches?”

He adjusted his glasses. They were already starting to cause excruciating headaches. Hugh really needed new ones.

“I do not like it either.”

“I know,” said Hugh. “I've never thought otherwise.”

“Well, you have a very curious way of showing it.”

Hugh opened one of the pear juices and raised his eyebrows.

“There is something you don't know about me, Westwood.”

“What thing, Everhart?” he asked with a frown.

He left the juice on one side and the comic book on the other. Then, he went to the shelf where they kept a box full of the comics they bought. Hugh took out the blue mask of Wonder Man his aunt made for him and put it on with a mysterious air, cautious so that Simon did not see him doing it.

“Hugh—”

“I'm not Hugh... I'm Wonder Man!” he exclaimed turning around. “And your kingdom of chaos is over!”

Simon was startled, but he immediately started to laugh and took his black Phantom Feline mask from the box. He put it on awkwardly as he climbed onto the table and picked up a red cloth to use as a cape.

“I would like to see you try it, Wonder Man,” Simon purred mysteriously covering his face with the cape. “But you will have to catch me first.”

Hugh created handcuffs with his powers and Simon vanished.

Silence invaded the room. He had to be very aware of each sound. Even the slightest movement could give away Simon's position and make Hugh the winner of the fight for Gatlon City that was unfolding inside their heads.

Hugh was the one who came up with the game. It all started because they argued over who would win in a fight: Wonder Man or the Phantom Feline. Simon was convinced that the Phantom Feline would end Wonder Man in a matter of seconds, because “Wonder Man was too stupid to find Phantom Feline when he turned invisible.” Hugh replied that the Wonder Man was extremely intelligent and that the Phantom Cat was no match for him.

“And I will prove it to you.”

Since then, they put on their masks and pretended to be Wonder Man and Phantom Feline whenever one of them was sad or upset. Like when Hugh's aunt was in bed for three days and her fever did not go down, or when Simon's father lost one of his many jobs and refused to speak to his children.

“Don't you think you're a little old to play like that?” Mr. Westwood asked them.

“Not at all,” they replied at the same time.

Hugh heard a rustle to his left. He turned, and before he could react, the handcuffs were snatched from his hand and he was thrown onto the cushions in the corner.

Simon put him the handcuffs and place his foot on Hugh’s chest.

“And the Phantom Feline takes control of Gatlon City in record time!” he exclaimed with an evil laugh.

“I will end with you, villain!” Hugh growled.

Simon took his razor out of his pocket and placed it just above the heart.

“Any last words?”

Hugh looked at him with determination. “Long live to justice.”

Simon nodded and stabbed him. The razor blade fell at the same time that Hugh played dead.

“Evil has triumphed. It always does,” Simon whispered, staring into the distance dramatically.

Hugh turned to look at the back cover of the comic book he'd left on the floor.

He was nothing like him. Wonder Man was stronger, taller, and did not wear glasses that were not from his graduation. He had dark skin and brown eyes, hiding his identity behind a blue mask and a tight uniform. On the back cover, he stood on a pile of villains defeated by him, his chin up and a silver spear nailed to Ace Anarchy's iconic gold helmet.

His blood went to his feet.

“Simon—“

“I saw it too,” he replied. He knelt and removed the handcuffs. “Now you will no longer find out what happened to Wonder Man at the end of the story.”

Hugh kept staring at that image. The spear. The helmet.

And he smiled.

“In the end, he beats Ace Anarchy.”

“Hugh, accept it. There will be no end,” said Simon, shaking his head. “He will never beat Ace Anarchy.”

“Maybe he doesn't,” Hugh muttered. “But what if we did?”

The End.

Now, you may be all like “wut obsi tf is this the end???” I mean, the end of this fic?? yeah. but the end of this the obsiverse??? i don’t think so bitch. this month i’ll be posting the first chapter of a new fic, Rise of the Renegades, which is going to be a continuation of The Origins. It’ll be all about the first year of the guys as the Renegades, how they formed, their fisrt missions, and maybe their first encounter with Ace:))) don’t wanna give spoiler tho. 

I hope you support the continution as much as you supported this fic. Seriously all the comments and tags mean a lot to me. I’m not use to sharing my writing, at least not outside school work, so it's great to know that people all over the world like what I do. Los adoro <3 Keep it weird.

Also all the chapter titles were from the song A Million Dreams it was one of the main inspirations for this work

[lelitachay]

Frozen fanfiction: Søsken

Summary: Even though Anna loved her sister-in-law, she couldn’t help but notice there was something peculiar about Elsa. Everything starts to make sense after an accident and a forced family reunion.

Modern AU. Kristanna - Frohana - Kristoff & Elsa BrOTP.

Chapters 1 to 10 - Here  

Chapter 11 - Repercussions    

Chapter 12 - Time apart

Chapter 13 - Guilt

Chapter 14 - The way I see it

Chapter 15 - Reconnecting

Chapter 16 - Finding home

Chapter 17 - What the future holds

Chapter 18 - Broken trust

Chapter 19 - Reopening old wounds

-

The visit

Lying in bed for several hours had proved to be useless for Elsa. It didn’t matter how tired she felt, her mind wouldn’t let her rest. She had tossed and turned for hours, hoping to finally get some sleep, but her mind kept going back to her conversation with Anna. It kept going back to the document she had found and what it meant for her.

She had gone to bed shortly after Anna had left. But she had barely slept for an hour or two before another nightmare woke her up. And after that, falling back asleep had proved to be impossible. 

Talking about her past to Anna had opened up scars that weren't completely healed. Her days inside the clinic had been the worst of her life, and talking about them always triggered the worst memories. Memories that took days or weeks to fade once again.

In the past, every time those memories had come back to haunt her, she had calmed her restless mind with the idea that those days were over. They were part of a troubled past that she was little by little leaving behind. But this time, however, she couldn’t find that silver lining. 

Telling the world what Weselton had done put her on the spotlight, and being in the public eye could backfire. Kai’s petition meant she was going to be forced to talk about her past in front of people. She was going to be asked question and possibly requested to give more details than the ones she had given Kristoff and Anna. And she knew for a fact she wasn’t ready to do something like that. She knew there was no way she could face a courtroom full of people and talk about her past without her powers manifesting, or what was worse, they acting on their own and hurting people around her.

In short, she couldn’t put her mind at ease if there existed a slim possibility of people finding out about her powers and locking her up once again.

She sighed and turned for the umpteenth time and faced the ceiling once again. Eighty-four wooden planks. Eighty-four wooden planks and nine beams. She didn’t even need to count the wooden planks in her ceiling. It had been the only activity that had helped her keep her mind distracted, but it was no longer working. 

Tired of lying in bed and fighting against her own mind, Elsa got up and went to the kitchen to find something to drink. She needed her mind to stop over-thinking things for just a moment, and she guessed that moving could actually help with that.

The idea of drinking a beer was tempting, but she thought better of it. She found it hard to stop at just one whenever she was feeling anxious and the last thing she needed was to wake up the following day with a hangover. Opting for a glass of milk instead, she opened the fridge in hopes of finding one last bottle. But to her disappointment there was none. It was at that moment she remembered she had planned to spend the afternoon grocery shopping instead of trying in vain to fall asleep.

She closed the fridge's door with more force than necessary and sat down on the closest chair. Yet another tired sigh escaped her lips as she rested her head on the wooden table. She knew she could still catch the last bus to town and continue with her original plan and pretend the events of the previous night hadn't happened; but part of her knew she couldn’t face her family just yet. 

She wasn't sure she wanted to confront her father so soon. And even if Anna insisted she should listen to him before jumping to conclusions, she couldn’t stop feeling disappointed and hurt.

She raised her head when a knock on her door distracted her from her thoughts. At first she thought it had been her imagination, but a second knock made her realise there was actually someone waiting outside her door. 

The first person to come to mind was Marshmallow. He usually travelled to Trolheim on Saturdays, and from time to time he would offer her a ride. And since she didn't wish for him to see her like that, she stayed where she was pretending she wasn’t home.

She knew he was bound to ask questions giving her appearance, and she wasn’t sure she could make up a believable story. After all, she had big bags under her eyes and she was still wearing the old baggy t-shirt and worn out shorts she wore to bed. A look that didn't match a fake smile.

After three more knocks, when she thought he had finally left; she heard the door open. Knowing Marshall would never enter her house uninvited, she got up to see who was entering her house.

"Elsa! You're here!" said Kristoff, when she walked into the living room. "Why didn't you open the door?" 

"Why does everyone enters this place as they see fit?" she answered, ignoring her brother’s question completely.

"You never lock your door." A lame excuse, he knew.

"That doesn't give you the right to barge in."

"Sorry," he apologised. It was clear she was angrier than usual about his lack of manners, and he just wanted to avoid a fight. "We thought you weren't home. We were going to wait inside until you returned." 

"I should listen to Kai and start locking the stupid door," she said to herself, a little bit louder than intended. 

"Yes, you should," came Kai’s reply from outside the door.

"Dad?” The lack of sleep was surely making her mind play tricks.

"Can you please let us in, Kristoff?" asked Gerda from the outside, tired of waiting for her son to move from the entrance.

Only when he did move, she was able to hurry to her daughter's side. "Elsa, dear, how are you feeling?" 

Not wanting to be rude, Elsa told her she was feeling fine before asking, "What are you doing here?" She didn't like the sudden visit, and she knew there was a reason behind her mother's fussiness.

"Are you sure, sweetheart? You look exhausted." Gerda insisted, as she cupped Elsa’s face with her hands.

"We came to see you," answered Kai still standing near the door.

"Yes, mum. I'm fine," repeated Elsa as she moved her face from her mother's grasp. Elsa made sure to hold the old woman’s hands, preventing Gerda from touching her again.

She didn’t mind her mother’s affection under normal circumstances, but right at that moment she wanted some space. Elsa knew Gerda was going to notice things were not okay, but she still wanted to keep up the appearance. However, it was really hard to do so if Gerda continued fussing over her.

"What are you really doing here?" Elsa asked Kristoff, hoping her brother was going to be more straight forward with his answer. 

Contrary to what his mother was doing, Kristoff tried to give Elsa some space, and he sat on the couch. "Anna told me what happened last night. We came here to talk.” Noticing the way his sister's face suddenly contorted with worry, he clarified, “Actually, dad came here to talk. Mum and I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

"Dear, your hands are really cold." Gerda had always made the effort not to point out Elsa’s powers without a reason, but right at that moment Elsa was still holding her hands and it was becoming hard to pretend they weren’t painfully cold.

Her mother's comment made Elsa realise there was a thin layer of frost covering her hands and she let go in an instant. Putting some distance between her family and herself, she said, "I don't blame Anna for worrying, but right now is not the best time.” They way her powers had just reacted was clear indication of that. “I'm not in the right mood to have this conversation."

“I’m sorry, Elsa. But we need to talk about this,” said Kai. “The sooner I explain what that document you found is, the better.”

“Dad-” she tried to stop him. She was still hurt about his idea of opening her case once again, and she wasn’t sure how to explain to him her fears.

However, Kai interrupted her before she got the chance. “First of all, I'm sorry you found out about this on your own. I wanted to talk to you and explain things to you before doing anything. That document you found is part of a formal petition-”

"Anna explained to me what it is,” Elsa cut her father off. She was tired. She didn’t want to hear him talk in a methodical way. She wasn’t part of another police procedure, at least not anymore. The least she expected from her father was for him to be straightforward. “You're requesting for my case to be opened once again."

“Yes. That is correct,” he admitted. “However-” Elsa turning around and walking to her bedroom interrupted him mid sentence. “Where are you going?”

“Elsa?” called Gerda soon after. 

Before they could follow, Elsa reappeared with the document in her hand. 

“Here,” she said as she put the paper in Kai’s chest. “You can have it back. Do whatever you want. But I won’t take part in any of this.” Not waiting for her father’s answer she walked into the kitchen ready to continue with her original plan for the evening. Find something to drink and go back to bed.

Gerda took a step closer to Kai and whispered, “Kai, you better do something.” 

He exhaled as he thought what was best to do. Elsa was clearly hurt, he could see it in her eyes, but he couldn’t solve anything if his daughter didn’t give him the opportunity to talk and explain himself.

He entered the kitchen and said, “Elsa, we need to talk.”

Continuing with what she was doing, Elsa closed the cupboard door and ignored her father. Maybe some tea could help her fall asleep.

“Elsa.”

“I'm not in the mood to discuss this right now.” She didn’t turn around to face him.

“I need you to listen-”

“No!”

It wasn’t the angered response what surprised Kai, but the sound of a cup breaking.

“Damn it!” Elsa cursed when she noticed the cut on her finger. Her control over her powers had slipped for just a moment, and it had broken the cup she was using to fill the kettle. She hated whenever her body didn’t let her do the simplest tasks. "Useless freak."

Gerda entered the kitchen just in time to see her daughter muttering to herself after the curse. And then she noticed her hand covered in blood. Her instincts kicking in, she rushed to Elsa's side. “Let me help you.”

“It’s fine.”

“But-”

“I said it’s fine.” Turning around, Elsa looked for a piece of cloth and wrapped it around her finger to stop the bleeding. She could feel the disapproving look of Gerda, but she didn’t care. She could just clean the wound later.

Kai waited till the situation was under control before trying to talk with his daughter once again, “Can we talk now, Elsa? Please.”

"I don't want to talk,” countered Elsa in a lower tone of voice. “I don't. But that doesn't matter, does it? It doesn't matter what I want.”

“Of course it does.”

“Then why did you open my case?” she asked. Finally reaching her breaking point. "You promised me you wouldn't, yet you did. My opinion didn't really matter after all.”

“Elsa, you're getting ahead of things. This is just a petition. A request. Your case is not open yet.” He tried to reason. He could understand Elsa’s distress, and he wanted to make sure she knew there was nothing to worry about. 

To hear Kai say the case was still closed allowed Gerda to sigh in relief. At least things could be resolved inside the family.

“You’re not answering my question. Why did you do it?” Elsa didn't stop to think about his answer. At that moment she wanted to hear her father's reasons more than anything. 

Thinking it was best to just answer her question. His explanation could wait. “Because I care about you. And I think it's unfair you're the only person who didn't obtain justice in his trial.”

“I don't blame you for wanting justice, Kai. I do too. But this was not the right way to proceed,” Gerda was still mad her husband had written the petition without taking Elsa's wishes into consideration. 

“You and Gerda promised to help me build a life away from my past. Away from everything I went through. That paper is the opposite of that,” said Elsa pointing to the document in his hand. 

Kai walked to the closest chair and sat down with a sigh. “Look, I know it isn't exactly what I promised,” he agreed. “But I need you to understand I had your opinion in mind, all the time. I wasn't going to send this without your approval. I was going to talk with you.” Turning around he looked at his wife and son, who had also entered the kitchen, and clarified, “all of you.”

Noticing his sister wasn't reacting, Kristoff picked the document from the table and skimmed over it quickly. “It's signed by several police officers. Why would you take the trouble to do that before talking with Elsa?"

“At the beginning, I thought it was plausible to open a case against Weselton without getting Elsa involved.” He looked at his daughter to make sure she was listening and continued, "Some colleagues let me see it wasn't going to work and they all agreed it was best to work with Elsa's original case if I wanted justice. They offered their help; and soon after, the petition was written and signed.”

Even if Kristoff didn't agree with his father's methods, he too believed Weselton needed to pay for his crimes. And it made him happy to know there were other police officers willing to help Elsa find justice. 

"I found myself with half the initial work done before I knew what to do," continued Kai before his son could answer. "It’s for this reason I kept the document inside one of the composition books until I decided what to do." 

"Why were you looking for it earlier today?" Gerda couldn't help but ask. 

"I wanted to show it to you and ask for your opinion, Gerda. I wanted to talk to Elsa and I didn't know how." He looked down in shame at that. The love he had for Kristoff and Elsa was immeasurable, but there were times Kai still felt inadequate to communicate with them. It was hard for him to express his ideas and not sound like he was imposing them. 

“So, you never sent the petition?” asked Kristoff, wanting to make sure there was nothing to worry about.

Kai shook his head and asked Kristoff to hand him the document back. “This is the original document.” 

“Rip it up,” Elsa demanded. Hoping to put an end to her problems.

Kai looked at her and then at the document in his hand. He wanted to destroy the document and be on good terms with his daughter again. He wanted to make Elsa happy and show her she could trust him. However, a part of him still wanted to help that little girl he had seen in a hospital bed all those years ago. “Are you sure you don't want to give this a second thought?” he asked.

Arms crossed in front of her chest, she answered with resolution. “Yes, I’m sure.” 

Not having the heart to go against her wishes for a second time, Kai tore the document apart in front of her. He was letting go of their chance to keep Weselton behind bars, but he couldn’t force Elsa to do something she didn’t want.

Elsa remained where she was. Leaning against the counter with her arms crossed over her chest. She was feeling a lot better now that she knew there wasn’t any risk of people finding out about her past and her powers; yet pain and sadness still lingered in her mind.

Just like everyone else, Gerda stayed silent lost in her own thoughts after Kai complied to their daughter's wishes.

From the very beginning Gerda had been against Kai’s idea of opening Elsa’s case once again. She was aware of the consequences of exposing Elsa to the public eye. The prosecutor had been more than clear about it years before. 

Nonetheless, there was a part of her that still wondered if what they were doing was right. The idea of such an unscrupulous man walking free was unacceptable. And she knew anyone would agree with her on that matter. Anyone but Elsa. Or at least that's what it looked like. The way Elsa had reacted let Gerda see she'd rather accept Weselton’s freedom, than being requested to speak in front of a jury.

Gerda couldn't help but think of it as something strange. One would think she'd be the first person to ask for justice, but that wasn't the case. 

Elsa wanted to keep her past behind and move on with her life. That was clear. But Gerda could feel there was something else. 

Not thinking twice about it, and believing it was finally time Elsa opened up about the way she felt, Gerda dared ask, “what's keeping you from accepting your father's offer?"

Elsa raised her head to look at her mother, who was a few steps away from her. “What?”

“I don't want to change your mind,” she said before Elsa got defensive once again. “I've got my reasons to believe it's best to leave things as they are. But I want to hear your reasons. After all..." She took a deep breath knowing it was a sensitive topic. "Weselton will be walking free in a few years.”

“Mum...” Kristoff tried to warn before things got out of hand. He understood his parents' concerns, but he also understood Elsa’s fears.

Elsa’s silence only encouraged Gerda to continue. She usually avoided talking about this with her daughter, but she felt it was best to have the conversation now that the wound was open. "I just want to hear your reasons, Sweetheart." 

Not knowing how to explain the way she felt, Elsa simply answered, “I can’t face a jury. I just can’t."

“Why?" she tried again. "Try to put into words the way you feel. I think it’ll help your father and I understand.”

Kristoff stayed silent looking how with gentle words and patience his mother was able to get Elsa to open up. He admired that about the old woman.

Elsa, on her part, took some time to put into words the way she felt. After taking a deep breath, she gave it a try. “I'll be on the spotlight.”

“And?”

“And I'll lose control of my powers as soon as I start talking. I'll be exposed…" She made everything in her power to avoid her mother's eyes. "Everyone will know how dangerous I am.”

“You’re not dangerous, Elsa,” said Kai interrupting their conversation. He couldn't stand Elsa talking about herself in that way. 

“As soon as I lose control of my powers people will think I am.” She continued, ignoring her father. “It will be easy for Weselton to prove his point then. Everyone will see reason behind the things he did."

"Elsa, wait. Try to-" Gerda tried to make her slow down. 

"Sooner than later, they'll lock me inside a clinic to be studied again.”

“That won't happen, Elsa,” said Kai not tolerating even the idea of that happening again. 

“Yes, it will.”

"No, it won't," he insisted. "The judge and everyone involved will be surprised, but if you explain what that horrible man did to you-" 

"It won't make a difference because people hate the things they can't understand… People can be cruel, Kai." 

The look of pain on her face broke Gerda’s heart. It hurt to know she was talking from experience. 

"I know what it feels like to be at the mercy of cruel people. Not you."

Kai had to agree that it was true. He hadn't experienced cruelty first hand, but his job had taught him a thing or two and he knew he could keep her safe. “I won't let anything happen to you.”

"You can’t promise that," answered Elsa dejectedly. "You don’t know how my powers are going to react under so much stress. It could be a disaster. If I end up hurting someone again, everyone will see reason behind Weselton's actions and I’ll be forced back in a cage." 

“No one's going to force you back in a cage. I won't allow it.”

“Yes, you will.”

“How can you believe something like that?!” To hear Elsa had so little faith in them hurt him deeply. “After everything we've gone through-”

Gerda, on the other hand, didn’t take Elsa’s statement to heart. She wasn’t accusing them. She was merely stating a fact, as if she believed the right thing was for them to allow that to happen. “What do you mean, ‘hurting someone again’?” she asked, interrupting her husband.

Elsa held her mother’s for just a fraction of a second, before looking at the floor in remorse. That was the reason she never talked about the way she felt, she always ended up saying a little too much. She stayed silent battling what to do. She could feel her powers tickling under her skin and the lump in her throat getting bigger.

From where he was standing, Kristoff noticed the tears streaming down her face. He considered it was time Elsa told their parents everything she had gone through. He believed they were going to understand. He was certain. And finally knowing about her past was going to help them understand. “Elsa, they deserve to know,” he said, surprising everyone in the room.

“What is your brother talking about?” asked Gerda gently. Elsa had come so far, she just needed her to say had really happened to her.

“I hurt someone with my powers once,” she answered after several minutes, when she felt the ice was more or less under control. 

“Who?”

“A nurse. It was inside the clinic.” She couldn’t raise her head. She couldn’t face her mother’s disappointment.  

“How bad?”

“Bad. I never saw her again-” A sob interrupted her. “I don’t know what happened to her.”

“Oh, dear…" Gerda walked the distance that separated them. But Elsa moved away just before she could wrap her arms around her.

"Mum, aren't you listening? I'm a threat." She said with a broken voice. 

Angered by the fact Elsa wouldn't even allow herself to be comforted. Gerda forced Elsa to lock eyes with her. "Look at me. Look at me," she repeated when Elsa tried to look away. "Get it into your thick head. You are not dangerous. You were just a child trying everything in your power to protect yourself. You're not dangerous. Those who locked you up are." 

Not giving Elsa the chance to put some distance between them, she hugged her tight.

There wasn’t anything Elsa wanted more than to believe her mother’s words, but it was so hard to ignore the frightened look of that nurse. “I still don’t understand why you aren’t afraid of me…”

Her big blue eyes carried so much guilt and sadness, Gerda couldn’t fathom the idea of someone considering her dangerous. "Because when I look into your eyes and I see how much you care. We know who you really are. You are not your powers. They are part of you, That’s true. But they don’t define who you are.” Gerda held Elsa tighter, showing her how much she really trusted her. “You’re just a scared child." 

Finally letting her walls down, Elsa hid her face in her mother’s neck and hugged her just as tight. She let go of all the pain and frustration she had been holding and allowed herself to cry.

It was only when she had calmed down that Gerda spoke again. “Your father and I need you to tell us everything you went through, okay?” She offered her a sad smile as she dried with her thumb the remaining tears. “It’s the only way we can help you and protect you. Not to mention the only way we can avoid doing stupid things like-”

“Opening my case again?” she asked in a low voice.

“Exactly,” said Gerda with a smile.

Kristoff couldn’t help but chuckle at his father’s mortified expression.

“Okay…” agreed Elsa.

--

It was almost midnight when Elsa finished her story. Somehow having told her story to Anna the previous night helped her open up to her parents. Kristoff’s presence and constant support also made things easier. Just like she had done with Anna and Kristoff, she had avoided the most gruesome parts, but she knew her parents perfectly understood the things she didn’t say.

Both her parents had cried and cursed, but true to their word, they didn’t suggest doing anything against Weselton. And it helped Elsa feel more relieved, knowing that they had found logic in her fears, and they weren’t going to force her to do anything that could put her in danger.

They only bid their goodbyes after Elsa assured them she was going to be okay on her own. Going straight to bed and calling them first thing in the morning.

Kristoff, being the last to walk out the door, stopped in his tracks and looked at Elsa for a moment. He offered her a smile and said,  "I'm sorry we showed up the way we did. We were worried."

"I know."

“I didn't want you to be alone and I thought Kai owned you an explanation.”

Elsa nodded, perfectly understanding her brother’s reasoning. Maybe her mind was a mess right at that moment, but she was honestly happy her family had showed up. She still felt somewhat hurt for Kai’s actions, but she couldn’t blame him for caring. “I'm glad you came, Kristoff.”

“Elsa?” 

“Mmh?”

“Can I give you a hug?”

A small smile appeared on her face. “Since when do you ask permission?”

“Since this afternoon, when I thought you were going to kill me for entering your house without permission,” he answered, trying to light the mood.

Elsa gave him a hug and then watched him go, together with their parents. 

Once inside her house, she cleaned her wound and made herself some tea. She sat on the couch to think about everything that had happened in just forty-eight hours. It was crazy to think she had been so miserable the day before. She felt good about the fact she had been able to tell her brother the truth when he was leaving. She was truly happy her family had showed up when they did. And she was relieved she had finally opened up about her past with the people she loved the most.

When she was about to turn the lights off, a pile of letters on the coffee table called her attention. Idunn’s letters had been tossed over it earlier that day, and she hadn’t given them much thought.

She pondered for a moment what was best to do with them. The idea of burning them came to mind, she definitely wanted to. But those letters contained the answer to several questions about her childhood. Thinking it was best to ignore the letters until she could think more clearly, she picked them up and put them in between some books inside her library. Maybe one day, she could give Idunn a chance.

--

Several knocks on Kristoff’s door woke him up from his slumber. He stretched his arm and picked the alarm clock on the bedside table. He wasn’t surprised to see it was already midday. After all, he had arrived late the previous night feeling more tired than usual.

Even if hir sister had been the one who had opened up about her fears and her past, Kristoff had been nervous himself for most part of the conversation. He had felt like that fourteen-year-old kid all over again, who didn’t know what to do to help his parents or his sister.

He remembered the excitement he had felt when his childhood friend became his sister. But once the excitement had worn off, he began to notice how much Elsa had changed in a just a few years. She didn’t smile as often, and the silly jokes once amused her, no longer made her smile. He had noticed his parents’ constant worry and he had felt useless. It was for this reason he had self-appointed himself as Elsa’s protector.

But there was little he could do to protect his sister when the things hurting her were her memories and the distorted version she had of herself. It was then he let his mother do what she did best, which was to prompt Elsa to talk and help her in the process. Something he believed she had done perfectly well the previous night. But still, the meeting had been emotionally taxing, and for that reason he was having such a hard time getting out of bed.

Sven barking near his front door reminded him someone was knocking at the door. And he had an idea who that someone was. Jumping out the bed, he hurried to let his girlfriend in.

Anna entered the apartment and Sven didn’t waste time to jump and greet her. “Sven, you saw her yesterday. Please, let her be.”

“You know I don’t mind,” she said while she kneeled in front of the dog to scratch his ears.

Sven got tired after a few minutes and he sat near the door once again, expectant to see if it didn’t open once again.

Once Anna was standing once again, she pointed to the dog’s strange behaviour. “What’s with him?”

“He always does that when he misses Elsa.” He called the dog’s attention, “she’s not coming, buddy.” The dog whined a couple of times and then gave up, going back to sleep on the couch.

“I should take him to the mountain next weekend.”

“About that…” Anna said, finally getting to the point of her visit. “How’s Elsa? Did you see her yesterday?”

“She’s okay,” he said with a small smile. “I took my parents to the mountain and Kai explained everything to her. She’s still a little hurt at him for making her worry, but she was finally able to explain her fears to my parents.”

“Did she tell them everything?” She hesitated, not knowing if Elsa had come clean about that part of her past.

“Yes.” Kristoff offered Anna something to drink and continued, “they reacted the way I’ve always imagined they would.”

“They don’t blame her.”

“Of course not. Just like you and me, they let her know she was just a child trying to protect herself.”

“What about the petition? Will she have to face a jury?” Anna was really concerned about it, and she was willing to fight her parents-in-law in order to help Elsa.

“Turns out that was the only copy. No one outside the family read the petition. Kai ended up tearing it into pieces.”

Anna let a sigh of relief escape her lips. The idea of talking in a courtroom was nerve-wracking even for herself, she imagined how stressful it could be for someone like Elsa. “So, she’s okay?”

“She’ll need a few days to tame her mind and control the unpleasant memories. But she’s okay, yes.”

“Are you sure?”

The concern in Anna’s voice made him smile. For her, everything about Elsa was new, and Kristoff couldn’t blame her for worrying. “I’m sure.”

“And what about… Never mind.”

The way she kept fidgeting let Kristoff know her question was in fact important for her. “What is it, Anna?”

“Did my parents have anything to do with the petition?” She didn’t want to ask the question. She knew Kristoff was still having a hard time accepting her parents as Elsa’s biological ones.

“I asked Kai after we left Elsa’s place. He said they’ve met your parents a couple times, but opening Elsa’s case was his idea entirely.” He was still unsure how he felt about his parents meeting the Arendelles behind Elsa’s back, but he guessed it made sense. After all, they were the main reason Elsa had ended up in the hands of someone like Weselton. Kristoff could see his father taking the trouble to see if they were worth Elsa’s tears.

Even if he hadn’t forgiven Anna’s parents, Kristoff guessed they were actually good people. Kai wouldn’t have met them more than once if that hadn’t been the case.

“I need to talk with mum and dad. I can’t believe they’ve been meeting with your parents and they didn't care to tell me.”

He understood his girlfriend's discontent, he had felt the same way when he found out the previous day. “I think you should.”

“Would you like to be there when I do?" Deep down she hoped for him to accept. She missed the days Kristoff would visit her in her parents' home. "I could use your company.”

“Anna…" He didn't like to disappoint her, but he wanted to avoid a confrontation. He couldn't face Agdar and Idunn since he still blamed them for Elsa's miserable life. "You know how I feel about your parents.”

"Let me know if you change your mind...” It pained her to be in the middle of the chaos. But there wasn’t much she could do when her heart understood both sides.

--

Marshall sighed for a third time, as he tried to find the courage to knock on Elsa's door. He had been waiting for her in the slope for an hour before he accepted she was not going to show up. And for some reason, instead of going back to his place, he found himself standing in front of her door.

He had no real reason for his visit. Elsa could simply had been busy. But she had never stood him up in the past, and the few times she hadn’t been able to meet him, she had called in advance.

Part of him wanted to turn around and simply accept the fact she probably had better things to do than spending time with him. Still, his curiosity to see if she was all right was bigger and he decided to knock. 

Straightening his back, he waited for the door to open. And, to his relief, it only took a few seconds for Elsa to greet him.

“Hey,” he said with a smile, pleased to see there was nothing to worry about.

“Marshmallow? What are you doing here?” The mountaineer usually worked on weekdays, and it was strange for him to spontaneously visit after work. 

“Just stopping by,” he said as he scratched the back of his neck. “I wanted to see if you were okay…” 

Elsa looked at him puzzled. She had no idea what reason he could have to worry about her, unless her brother had called the guy and bothered him. If that were the case, kristoff was not going to hear the end of it. “Did Kristoff call you?”

“What? No. I-”

“Because if he did-” Elsa interrupted.

Trying to get his point across before she jumped to any other strange conclusion, Marshall explained in a hurry, “you didn't show up at the slope like we agreed, and I worried.”

“What?”

"You-" Elsa’s confused expression made him think about the possibility he had been mistaken. Hadn't he asked Elsa to meet him like he had intended? Not wanting to make a fool out of himself, he said, "It doesn't matter. I should've just called." 

Elsa grabbed his arm before he could turn around and leave. "Wait, Marshmallow, what are you talking about?" 

"On Thursday, when I called you," he began to say, as he scratched his beard - a nervous tic she had seen him do many times before. "I told you I was free today, and you said you'd meet me at the slope."

"Oh?… oh!" Everything that happened had made Elsa forget about her plan with Marshall. "I completely forgot."

"It doesn't matter. There wasn't much to do there anyway. Most of the snow is melted." 

Elsa could see he was trying to pretend it wasn't important. But she knew he had probably been waiting for her. "I really am sorry, Marshall. Truth is I had a hard weekend." 

“Everything okay?”

“I’ve been better.” There was no way she could explain to him her problems, so she left it at that. “I wish I had remembered about our plan. It would have been a good distraction.”

"Would you like to come to my place?” he offered. “We could eat something. If you want…" 

Elsa wondered if it was a good idea. She felt guilty for the little time she had been dedicating to her studies, and she had finally found the will to sit and work in her assignments just before his visit. On the other hand, she could really use some time away from her worries.

Before she got the chance to answer, however, Marshmallow said, "the cats miss you."

Smiling at his ridiculous attempt to convince her, she asked, "Do they?" 

"Yes. Well…" He cleared his throat to hide his embarrassment. He wanted to punch himself for the moronic reason he had come up with. "I think they do. And maybe they can be a good distraction from whatever is bothering you." 

"Okay."

"Okay?" 

"Yes." Smiling after days of sadness felt nice. She had to be thankful Marshall was considerate enough to invite her right after she had stood him up. "Maybe you're right, I could use some company. And I've missed the cats too."

Marshall smiled too, pleased to notice she wasn’t really talking about the cats.

--

I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I apologise in advance for any mistakes. I’ve been writing the whole day, and I can’t identify mistakes at this point.

Big thank you to everyone who has taken the time to review and share this story. You’re all amazing!

Tagging: @swimmingnewsie @melody-fox, @kristoffxannafanatic, @kristannafictionals, @neptrabbit, @skneez, @ellacarter13, @wondering-in-life, @who-i-am-8, @fanfictionrecommendations-com, @815-allisnotlost, @khartx, @joannevixxon, @betweenthedreams, @lilrann, @burbobah, @rileysfs, @zutonium, @earlvessalius, @blood-jewel, @disneydreamer8901, @the-sky-is-awake, @disneyfan103, @the-magic-one-is-you, @anamaria8garcia, @welovefrozenfanfiction, @bigfrozenfan-archive, @bigfrozenfan, @frozen-snips  @deisymendoza  @zackhaikal123 @cornstarch @roostercrowedatmidnight @wandering-bard-from-the-id, @showurselfelsa @fuzzyelsalikeiduna @when-dawn-arrives​ @drafteedragon​ @snowycrocus​ @tare8chan​ @localarendellian​ @wabitham​ @roostercrowedatmidnight​ @aries1708 @tare8chan, @just-your-local-history-nerd, @dontrunintofirexoxo @daphmckinnon @poketin @bruni-is-love @luna-and-mars, @anotherpersondrawing @lovelucywilde

Wish you guys the best. Stay safe!

[jokertrap-ran]

(未定事件簿) EVENT! 「消失的黄金」 [Tears of Themis] EVENT: The Lost Gold Translations (Mo Yi Chapter 2-05: Mountain Zone)

“...Let’s just say that there’s a saying; to have one’s view obscured by trivialities.”

*Tears of Themis Masterlist is under construction. *Spoiler free: Translations will remain under cut *(y/n) is your name when in direct referral; otherwise referred to as MC.

Location: Mountain

Wang Xian looked a little deflated after his lie was exposed. But we kept going, for we had to reach the next Camp before it got dark out.

He told us exactly how he got ahold of the riddle as we made our way there.

Wang Xian: I actually knew that there might really be gold here, on this Island, the first time I came here.

Wang Xian: This all started when Dong Hechuan asked me to find a certain book for him.

Location: Prison Visiting Room

Dong Hechuan: Dr. Wang, I've recently read a book about Ancient Egyptian Culture.

Dong Hechuan: I think it's pretty interesting. I want to know more about it, so can you help me borrow a book from the Public Library?

Wang Xian: What book? Does the Prison's E-Book Library not have it?

Wang Xian: Unless…it's a prohibited book?

Dong Hechuan: It can't really be classified as a prohibited book. It's from a rather grey area and it's also something from an era long past.

Dong Hechuan: I can only find the title of the book in the Prison's E-Book Library, but not the actual book itself.

Wang Xian: You've certainly piqued my interest. What book is it?

Dong Hechuan: It's the "Book of the Dead". I've already confirmed that the Public Library has a physical copy of the book.

Dong Hechuan: You'll help me out , won't you, Doctor Wang?

Dong Hechuan winked as he said that. Clearly, there was something going on between them.

Wang Xian: Wanting to learn is a good thing.

Wang Xian: If only everyone in the Prison was just like you, then everyone would have gotten out that much quicker.

Wang Xian: And once they’re out, they can get a good job and a new start.

Dong Hechuan: That’s pretty high and mighty coming from you. You can see from just a single glance that things are different for a small grunt like me.

Wang Xian: Just wait, I’ll borrow the book for you. You have to hurry and finish reading it though. I have to return the book on-time.

Wang Xian: Else, having an overdue book will tarnish my borrowing records.

Dong Hechuan: Don’t you worry! I won’t make things hard for you at all.

☆⋅⋆…⋅─────────── ⋆⋅✾⋅⋆ ───────────⋅…⋆⋅☆

MC: So you thought of the gold legends surrounding Nosta Island back when Dong Hechuan asked of you to borrow a book for him?

Wang Xian: Of course not. I didn’t think that much into it at that time.

Wang Xian: The only time I actually thought about the gold on Nosta Island was when Dong Hechuan returned the book.

Wang Xian: I found a sheet of handwritten notes within the “Book of the Dead” that he returned.

Wang Xian: Written on the note was a simplified map of Nosta Island and a couple of poetic lines.

Mo Yi: You made the connection that it probably had something to do with the reason why Dong Hechuan was in Prison, and that Nosta Island might actually have gold on it. And then, you came directly to the Island…

Mo Yi: You probably wanted to monopolize all the gold for your own back then, correct?

Mo Yi: At that time, he probably hadn’t shown you his true colors, neither did he coerce you to reduce his sentence and get him out of Prison, right?

Wang Xian: That’s right. We were still on pretty good terms at that time.

Wang Xian: After obtaining that note, I immediately made time to come down to Nosta Island.

Wang Xian: Back then, I finally found a similar cave to the one described in the poem after searching the Island for days on end; but there was nothing there.

Wang Xian: I only found out that that cave I found back then was actually the resting place of Dong Hechuan’s fallen brothers, after I had come to the Island together with him.

Dong Hechuan: It’s the place where he went to pay his respects.

Wang Xian: And that the riddle on the note was something he created by playing around with the original.

Mo Yi: Do you still remember the contents of the “fake” riddle?

Wang Xian: I don’t. That riddle was awkward-sounding, making it hard to remember.

Mo Yi: Then, exactly when did Dong Hechuan give you this piece of parchment that’s currently in our hands?

Wang Xian: Right before we got to the Island this time.

Wang Xian: I’d already explored that swamp and the terrain around it, so I’m familiar with the area.

MC: Did you question him immediately, upon failing your first expedition to the Island?

MC: Have you never thought about the fact that there might not even be gold on the Island at all?

Wang Xian: There’s definitely gold on the Island.

The finality in his answer caught me by surprise.

MC: Why?

Wang Xian: If there wasn’t gold, then why would he borrow the “Book of the Dead”?

Wang Xian: I checked his borrowing records during his time in prison. He has never once read anything relevant to Ancient Egypt.

Wang Xian: He specifically borrowed this book to solve the riddle that the second leader left behind.

Wang Xian: Dong Hechuan also insisted on wanting to get out of the Prison, the moment he heard that PAX Entertainment had bought the Island. Which only further proves to show that the rumor about there being gold on the Island is true.

Wang Xian: Otherwise, he’d have another two years before his intended release from prison; there’s no real need for him to be in such a hurry to get out.

Wang Xian: It’s not like he’s afraid of PAX digging up his gold.

Mo Yi: Wang Xian, does he have any other acquaintances that he might be secretly close with besides you?

Mo Yi had suddenly interjected with a question that had nothing to do with the gold at all.

Wang Xian: Probably not. Even if he did, they’d only be the other Prisoners back in the prison.

Mo Yi: ……

We had reached the bank of the night river while conversing.

Standing on the elevated grounds of the mountain slope, I could see a small ferry across the river which should have been placed there by the Event Organizer.

Wang Xian immediately ran off the slope, making a break towards said ferry.

MC: Mo Yi, do you really think there’s gold on this Island?

MC: I can’t help but to feel that Dong Hechuan is playing him.

Mo Yi: If I absolutely have to say, then, I think there’s something very precious or important hidden on this Island.

Mo Yi: Whether this may or may not be the gold, that, I am unsure.

MC: Why?

Mo Yi: Let’s put everything else aside. Think about it, why would Xia Yan come to this Island?

Mo Yi: There are some things that aren’t convenient for us to be asking about, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t exist.

MC: Hmm… You do have a point.

Mo Yi: And regarding Dong Hechuan…

Not far ahead, Wang Xian had already undocked the small ferry and was waving back at us.

Wang Xian: Hey! Hurry and get over here, guys!

MC: If my memory serves right, he’s only here with us because we coerced him…

MC: Isn’t he a tad too proactive for a hostage?

Mo Yi: He won’t attempt to separate from us and act alone on his own accord; not until he has found the gold and safely left the Island.

MC: And why is that so?

Mo Yi: Wang Xian can never confront Dong Hechuan alone if it comes to it.

Mo Yi: Theoretically speaking, Dong Hechuan can never manage to move the gold that weighs over a 100 kilograms or more by himself…

Mo Yi: But Wang Xian is still wary that he might try to silence him while still on the Island.

Mo Yi: Together, we make a three-man team. Which is a slightly distinctive advantage to have.

MC: He really calculated this through, I see.

I opened the Tracking APP to check on things, noticing how the dot that represented Dong Hechuan was steadily getting closer to Xia Yan’s position. And it seemed like neither of them had any intention of heading towards us.

Mo Yi: Wang Xian isn’t stupid, but...Let’s just say that there’s a saying; to have one’s view obscured by trivialities.

Mo Yi: It’s a pair of gold leaves that are obscuring Wang Xian’s vision, I’m afraid.

☆⋅⋆…⋅─────────── ⋆⋅✾⋅⋆ ───────────⋅…⋆⋅☆

Previous Part: (Mo Yi Chapter 2-04: Mountain Zone) | Next Part: (Mo Yi 3-01: Abandoned Prison)

[arcaneranger]

Final Thoughts - Netflix Exclusives 2018

Oh my god you guys, I’m finally done. I’m free from the prison of 2018, just in time to actually finish my premieres for spring of 2019. But first, let’s talk!

2018 was the year that Netflix really went all-in on producing its own anime and picking up some big names, so we saw Devilman Crybaby made specifically for the service and high-profile shows like Dragon Pilot and Hi-Score Girl basically hijacked by the streaming service and delayed for months in the U.S. so that the biggest name in the game could release everything in bingeable packages. Unfortunately, bringing in an auteur like Masaaki Yuasa for Crybaby and throwing all the damn money at him worked so well that, long before any of these shows would even premiere, they decided to seemingly take any anime pitch under the sun, and wound up financing disasters like Hero Mask and B: The Beginning. Really, these shows kind of run the full gamut from garbage to god-tier, with an unfortunate tipping of the scale in the wrong direction. I haven’t gotten to see Ingress yet at the time of publication though, so we’ll have to see whether 2019 will start in a good direction.

ANYWAY.

DROPPED

WORST OF NETFLIX: Back Street Girls -GOKUDOLS-

I still don’t get how anyone thought this was worth promoting. The entire concept is offensive, and yet it was directed by a master and veteran of the medium (who is also a woman), leading me to just throw my hands in the air and resign myself to never having a satisfactory answer for why Netflix would pick this up to begin with. Dropped after 1 episode.

Hero Mask

One of the most incompetently written first episodes I’ve ever seen gave me absolutely no hope that Hero Mask was going to actualize into anything watchable or even average-looking. It was boring and unintelligible. Dropped after 1 episode.

Fate/EXTRA: Last Encore

What the fuck was Akiyuki Shinbo even doing on Fate? Did he do this at the expense of season 3 of March comes in like a lion or something? Probably not, but geez... This seems much more like someone attempting to copy his style than the genuine article, but nope, there’s his director credit. In the end, I suppose that Fate/EXTRA, despite being a very interesting game, was not ever going to be adapted well - the protagonist is almost literally a blank slate for a self-insert of the player, and their servant is also not set in stone - but I kind of would have rather had nothing than this. Dropped after 2 episodes.

SWORDGAI The Animation

Oh hey, yet another “the Animation”, it definitely doesn’t sound pretentious yet. I don’t have much to say on SWORDGAI, or at least not any more than anyone else - it’s stupid, very earnestly stupid, and doesn’t seem aware enough of that fact to be entertaining for more than a hate watch - and my hate plate is full already. Dropped after 1 episode.

Last Hope

I remember almost nothing about Last Hope other than that it was both pretentious and nonsensical, which kind of illustrates why Yoshiyuki Tomino is wise enough to stay out of anything that isn’t his beautiful Gundam baby, and it’s a shame that Kawamori (father of Super Dimensional Fortress Macross) doesn’t stick with what he knows, which is mech design. (No, seriously, he’s got a ton of credits on MAL and they’re almost all for that.) Dropped after 1 episode.

BAKI

Oh, BAKI, it’s okay, you’re a remnant from a different time. That time was right around when Mars of Destruction seemed like a good idea. It’s not that bad so I shouldn’t really mention them in the same sentence, but the hyper-violent imagery of this show is on the level of the Berserk manga. It’s unfortunate that I had to leave it after one episode because Netflix picked up a sequel that relies heavily on your pre-existing investment (just like with the Dragons TV show, for the record). Dropped after 1 episode.

A.I.C.O. Incarnation

I stuck with this one longer than any other that I didn’t drop, but in hindsight I shouldn’t have wasted my time. It’s one of the worst-looking Bones productions I’ve ever seen and the plot is a dumb ripoff of a much better science fiction series. Dropped after six episodes.

B: The Beginning

Probably the biggest waste of money on this list, B has such lavish animation that you can almost forget that you have absolutely no clue what’s happening or what the context of the story even is. It tries really hard to be both Psycho-Pass and Death Note at the same time to the point of cutting between them multiple times per scene, and it just ends up a badly jumbled mess, albeit one with really pretty colors. Dropped after 3 episodes.

Kakegurui

I still don’t have much to say here because the topic has been so thoroughly covered by The Anime Pope, so I’ll resummarize here - this is a show about gambling where the stakes seem utterly meaningless, even though it tries to impress us by showering money on the characters.

Children of the Whales

It’s so pretty, but it’s so boring. Children of the Whales succeeds in looking beautiful, but fails as a story that wants to be grim and apocalyptic but comes across as a soft-hearted small-village story that gets surprisingly violent four episodes in. This should have been the tone from the beginning, and the entire thing needed a good kick in the pants. Dropped after five episodes.

FINISHED

Sirius the Jaeger (6/10)

One that I waited a long time for after seeing the PV at Anime Central last year, and wound up pretty disappointed by in general. It looks nice (...at first), given that P.A. Works at least knows how to make a show visually appealing on a consistent basis, but the plot jumps so far into cliched stupidity by the end that, even though it had a few twists I wasn’t expecting, they couldn’t save it from being something I won’t recommend to anyone with as much anime experience as myself.

Lost Song (7/10)

(Author’s note: Yeah, apparently nobody on all of Tumblr has made a GIF of this one...)

Lost Song was a pleasant surprise that I wasn’t expecting to be invested enough to finish. One of the best of LIDENFILMS’ output, it manages to weave together a decent fantasy Symphogear AU fanfic, with interesting third-act twists peppering the last few episodes that made it memorable despite looking pretty generic. There’s a sequel due this year, too!

Hi Score Girl (7/10)

A very visually distinctive show with a neat concept that didn’t dive far enough into the heavy subjects it brings up, Hi Score Girl sits in a place where I like the presentation of it a lot more than I like the story. Don’t get me wrong, the romance is certainly cute, and I won’t begrudge a love triangle if it’s meant to be the primary conflict of a show, but the fact that it spent most of its last episode setting up for later robbed it of the chance to give us a satisfying place to leave off until the next part of this adaptation. Luckily, it got a second season, hopefully to finish the adaptation later this year.

Forest of Piano (7/10)

A good first try by a fledgling studio, but not one that lives up to what it really wants to be due to some very bad habits. I still distinctly remember the constant character shilling, and it feels like the story could have happened a little faster if not for the breaks every few minutes to heap praise upon the protagonist. Also, the mo-cap piano playing still looks weird. I’ll probably watch the sequel though, to see if it gets concluded well.

Dragon Pilot: Hisone to Masotan (8/10)

I literally just did my write-up for this one, so I don’t have much new to say here, but I’m pleased that Dragon Pilot turned out as well as it did despite not being what I quite expected from it.

Aggretsuko (8/10)

A fantastic and rather unorthodox look at what it’s actually like to be an adult in the Japanese workforce, Aggretsuko was an early darling of the year, and the only things that could have made it better were a more interesting visual presentation and a less squirrelly ending. Shame that the Christmas Special was...not good.

Devilman Crybaby (9/10)

It was so, so good...right up until the end. Yeah, that’s the only thing holding this back from a perfect score - I really, really hate the ending, and it needed to be changed. I know that, for most people, the best show of the year was either this one, or the most conspicuous work that hasn’t yet appeared on this list, though, so…

BEST NETFLIX SHOW OF THE YEAR: Violet Evergarden (10/10)

Oh God, what beautiful cry-porn. I hope that Kyoto Animation was paid well for their best show in years, and I’m kind of shocked that the two shows that made me sob the most this year both came out in the same season (thanks, A Place Further Than the Universe). I won’t spoil more than I did in my original review, but Netflix should be pushing this to literally everyone who would be even casually interested in watching it.

And that’s it! Last but not least, the last list won’t be a roundup of the whole year (since, you know, I’ve already done that in big chunks), but a list of the Class of 2018 Superlatives. Look forward to it!

[sudoscience]

New In Town: Background Info

Click here for a version with working hyperlinks.

Although it's never explicitly stated by the games, I'm going to assume the story is set in the US, or at least a country like it. The existence of monsters likely altered the course of several events in human history, so it's possible things are actually radically different. For the purposes of this story, I'll assume most things are still the same unless stated otherwise, (e.g. the American Revolution was still in 1776, and World War II was still in the early-middle of the 20th Century.).

Let's also just go ahead and say the story takes place in 201X for now.

[For the record, I pronounce 201X as "twenty-ex-teen". I guess you could say it "two-oh-one-ex", but why would you? I also assume it refers to the whole decade, so, for example, when I say "the early part of 201X", that could mean anywhere between 1 January 2010 and 31 December 2014.]

Navigation:

Humans and Monsters (Current headcanon)

Humans and Monsters (Old) (Preserved for posterity)

Footnotes

Master Post

Humans and Monsters

Humans and monsters have always coexisted relatively peacefully, at least as well as humans and humans. There have been some smaller wars over land and resources, but nothing like the war in Undertale (hereinafter "The War").

Someone still remembers that other universe, though. The universe where monsters freely used magic. The universe where a monster could absorb a human SOUL. The universe where the monsters were sealed underground and later systematically slaughtered by a human child. Perhaps that someone is W. D. Gaster. Perhaps it is Chara. I haven't decided yet. Until that time comes, I'll call that person Individual 1.

Individual 1 remembers the world of Undertale, but the version they remember is the one in which the genocide route takes place. After that world is destroyed, Individual 1 uses their DETERMINATION to bring the world back. They restore the world to long before The War takes place. Individual 1 convinces the King of All Monsters (who is probably someone other than Asgore) to strictly curtail the use of magic. It is Individual 1's belief that the only way to prevent The War from occurring is if humans never learn that monsters can absorb their souls. This is why we don't see evidence of magic in Deltarune.1

Sometime in 1965, a man in Twin Falls (Bill Hammond) learns of the monsters' hidden power. He attempts to alert the government, but it's years before anyone in power takes him seriously. Most people view him as a crackpot; he's this universe's Alex Jones. However, he begins to gain a following among the commoners, who take to calling themselves the Arcane Enforcement Unit. Hate crimes against monsters become more frequent, and the government establishes the Directorate of Inter-Species Relations to combat this.

Hammond's influence grows, and he runs for president multiple times, though he rarely gets more than 2% of the vote. In 1996, his campaign performs surprisingly well, but he is assassinated. His following was strongest in Twin Falls, and it once again becomes a hot spot for anti-monster sentiment, only this time it extends to humans who are considered "monster sympathizers", including Kris's birth parents and eventually Rudy, who is born around this time.

Paul and Judy Harper are DISR employees in Twin Falls. In 2003, the year Asriel is born,2 the DISR begins a joint operation with DHS and FBI to infiltrate the AEU, which is now suspected as a terrorist organization. The Harpers are assigned to the team, Operation Golden Flower, as undercover agents in 2005. In 2007, Judy becomes pregnant. Later that year, their cover is nearly blown. In order to keep their child safe, they begin making arrangements with some old friends of theirs, the Dreemurr family in Hometown. Their son is born in December,​3 and adopted by the Dreemurrs immediately. A few months later, Paul and Judy are killed; their death is not publicized classified in order to avoid jeopardizing the operation.

In the early part of 201X, an AEU supporter named Noah Trey Ullman is elected mayor of Twin Falls. This is when things really start to go south. Ullman incites violence against monsters and monster sympathizers. They usually stay out of the majority monster neighborhoods, but they tend to target monsters who are known to affiliate with humans. This is what prompts Rudy to move to Hometown.

Humans and Monsters (OLD)

Humans and monsters have always coexisted, but there's always been a lot of tension between them. For most of their history, they've lived more or less independently of each other. As humans began to industrialize, they began to expand and encroach on monster territory.1 Interactions with monsters became more frequent, as did altercations. While there hasn't been an outright war between humans and monsters, there have been frequent skirmishes, akin to the US and the Native Americans. There was a period where humans sought to make use of magic, primarily by employing the monsters. The monsters were often subjected to inhumane conditions, and uprisings, while infrequent, were not unheard of.

Knowing that a monster with one or more human souls could become a being of great power, this practice was eventually outlawed. Humans became reluctant to hire monsters at all, and most monsters eventually relocated to their own settlements. These are similar to Indian reservations, with the distinction that they are not considered sovereign. In order to keep things under control, the government created the Directorate of Inter-species Relations in the mid-19th Century. Under the pretense of fairness, the DISR banned the use of magic about 100 years ago;2 this would theoretically allow more monsters to be hired, so long as they weren't being exploited for their magical abilities. In practice, because magic is so central to a monster's existence, this drastically changed the monsters' way of life. Initially, smaller acts of magic were allowed, but as more monsters moved into settlements, their interactions with humans became less frequent, and the humans became more fearful, having only the legends and rumors to inform them rather than their own experiences. Eventually, all magic was banned, and the Arcane Enforcement Unit was created in 1956 to enforce said ban.

Of course, some monsters remained in the human cities. They felt they still had ties there, and refused to move. They are largely relegated to their own neighborhoods, and the AEU does its best to "gently encourage" them to relocate. Other than the AEU, very few humans interact with monsters.3

What happened five years ago?

There was a change in leadership at the AEU, and they became much more aggressive in their policing.

[I think this was a separate subsection because I originally planned on writing more, but now it seems pretty silly to have a subsection with just one sentence.]

Footnotes

Notes for New Info

There are several reasons I decided to scrap the old backstory, but this was probably the main one. I really liked the theory that Deltarune takes place after the Genocide Route, and I wanted to expand on that. I'm no longer sure I buy that theory, but I still think it's a cool idea. ↑

As noted in the "Headcanon for Existing Characters", I originally planned for Asriel to have started college early, which would further demonstrate how exceptional he is, and also factor into the resentment Kris wishes they didn't have of him. This is also his first semester of college, which is why Kris is so worried he'll have changed. I think I'll keep him a freshman, but increase the age gap between them. When Asriel gets back from college, he'll have just turned 19, while Kris will be turning 14 very soon. I'm assuming he's returning for Thanksgiving Break (and also that Thanksgiving still exists in this world), and this is the first time he's been back home since he left for college. ↑

Yes, Kris's full name is Krismas (no, not really). Their birthday is 22 December, and Asriel's is 15 September (unless there's an official birthday listed somewhere, in which case it's that). I hope it's okay if I write that Kris is biologically male, even though they identify as non-binary. Since I've already changed their pronouns in the main story, this is probably the only time it will ever be mentioned, unless maybe they go swimming or something. I got the idea from @caretaker-au and how they represent Chara as male non-binary (is that the right way to say that?); I know some people find that blog to be problematic, but I think that was more to do with them drawing porn of Chara and Asriel, not because they drew Chara as biologically male. (For the record, I was not aware of that when I started following them, especially since Tumblr banned porn a year before I even bought Undertale.) ↑

Notes for Old Info

Another reason I dropped this: I'm pretty sure this was inspired by @wolven0ne-universe's "Long Road" AU. Actually, there's a lot that was inspired by Long Road, even in the new backstory: the decision to have multiple OCs, the way magic supposedly works, humans exploting monsters for their magic, a shadowy organization that abducts monsters because of their magical abilities, etc. Some of this is attributable to the fact that I never read fanfics prior to playing Undertale, so some of these were "inspired" by Long Road simply by virtue of it being, like, the second fanfic I ever read, ever. (The first was "Flowey is Not A Good Life Coach".) Anyway, my point here is that I dropped this backstory in part because I didn't want it to be too similar to Long Road, not because I suddenly stopped liking Long Road. ↑

Here's an additional reason I changed the backstory: I wasn't sure if this was a believable timeline. I feel like it's plausible that human society would forget that monster magic involves a lot more than just a monster's ability to abosrb a human soul in just 100 years, but that doesn't seem like nearly enough time for monster society to forget that monsters can use magic. Plus, if monsters and humans have coexisted for all of human history, and monsters have been using magic for like 99% of said history, that seems like it could have created a lot of ripple effects that I would spend way too much time thinking about. Like, what if the existence of magic resulted in the first Industrial Revolution happening in the 15th Century? What would Earth look like in 201X if that were the case? I just didn't want to deal with all of that. ↑

Other than wanting to believe that Deltarune takes place after the Genocide Route, the next most important factor in my decision to scrap this backstory is that it's just really dark. The story has enough potentially depressing shit that I didn't need to add a monster Trail of Tears on top of it all. Plus, I was worried it might come across as racially insensitive. ↑

[lambourngb]

Behind the Scenes- Last Year’s Wishes

@zuluoscarecho - ““Oh man you have been busy! I’m glad the writing Has been going well for you. I would love to hear about your process when you get a chance if you’re keen. Like whether you plotted it out, whether the whole fic came to you (more or less) or how hard you had to work to fill in the gaps to get you where you wanted to go, whether you’re a “push through” kinda writer and just sit down and do it or whether you scribble stuff down all day and then type it up at the end or whatever. Many questions I have”

Oh boy, these are great questions- my approach to writing has changed from how I started “Last Years Wishes” and how I’m finishing it. First of all, I was out of practice. The last long story I tackled and finished on my own was in 2002-2003 on ff.net  (for a moment I thought it was 2012-2013 but I just looked it up and still can’t believe it was that long ago, hahah) Then I wrote a follow up with a co-writer that ended …poorly due to stuff outside of writing with that person. I hit a very bad depressive cycle and didn’t write again until 2019 and RNM.

The idea came after I watched some true crime story in August- I think it was “Murder Comes to Town” - which is all small town population less than 10,000 gets hit with a salacious murder. I immediately thought about Michael, and first I thought he could be blamed for Max���s disappearance, but then I remembered how visible Noah was to the town, and I was off plotting. Carina said on twitter- oh lord what a loaded sentence that is - that we don’t know when Alex was at the Airstream or what he had to say- which fine, but that made me think about juggling the time a bit, letting the police show up first, then Alex go to the wild pony, THEN MAX, and yeah boom! Conflict! Alex knows Michael wants to be with someone else, but he just gave him an alibi. They are stuck! Fuck Alex’s whole life, amirite? That part of the idea came all at once.

I wrote the first draft of the scene for Tumblr - August 8th - started it before work when I like to write- kept writing once I got to work (bad employee!) posted it and as the comments and likes rolled in, I kept writing. First day was like 6,000 words.

Then I didn’t really touch it for 2 weeks. I kept adding stuff here and there, using WIP Wednesday to motivate me to share a bit. In one month though, the story was at 10,000 words by September 12. Mainly because I just wrote as it came to me, and let my brain just fuck off on Tumblr or reading other fics. I wasn’t really serious about it. Six weeks later it was 15,000 words by the end of October. This time I thought the reason I didn’t have more progress on it was because I didn’t have the practice of finishing a story- so I attempted at the very beginning of October to do Whumptober. I managed to write 2 stories - truth (to the people we love) and If You Regret (What You Know).

So two stories finished, I went back to Last Year’s Wishes and used everyone working on NaNo for November to buckled down. I wrote out a rough outline of future scenes. I made a point to write, if I could, every day something. I do try and write in a linear fashion, but if I couldn’t move forward in the story, I would go back to previous stuff to add in descriptions, put in some introspection- sometimes a whole scene needed to be inserted, then I could push forward again.

The story grew from 15,000 words on Nov 1 to 28,000 words by Dec 1. Nearly double in size. And the more I put my ass in the chair to write, the easier it became to focus. It will never be easy to focus for me- I really like scrolling on my phone, chatting with other people, etc. But I had to build a muscle in my brain from the ground up with no real belief that I would succeed because I thought depression and anti-depressants had broken my brain. But Malex kept me interested.

By the time December rolled around, I made a goal of finishing it by New Years, but then my outline kept growing. I kept thinking about the underlying plot, I kept thinking about how big the communication divide was- I couldn’t just say “they talked, they fucked HEA!”. As December came to a close, I realized I had written 32,000 words in the month of December but I was only half done with the story. So while I was disappointed I hadn’t hit my goal of being done, I was very pleased at the progress. The story was around 60,000 words by the end of the year.

January- I increased my goal of 1,000 words a day, to 2,000 words a day.  I really believed I could finish it in one sustained push. I wrote nearly 40,000 words in the month of January- bringing it to just under 99,000 words but…it still wasn’t done. My assistant quit. I got sick. Progress stuttered. But I felt like the end was in site- so I contacted  betas, two of which came through- tasyfa and Maura - and kept writing. I thought it was just 20,000 words to go, and since I just wrote 40,000 in one month, I could easily write 20,000 2-1/2 weeks, right????

February- beta comments were great, I started releasing it publically in chapters, and then the feedback started rolling in- and instead of motivating me forward, I started obsessing over the next thing people would read- I wanted it to be perfect. I started inserting new scenes, fleshing out other areas- driving my betas crazy I think- because I kept poking at it. I wrote those 20,000 words easily as the story was getting posted, but they were all in the existing frame of the plot. New stuff … that didn’t really start happening until March.

Another thing that I realized was my outline needed to be supportive but flexible. Originally (which remind me once it’s complete) but I had some different ideas for how the last few chapters were going to go, and I had to let those narratives go because it no longer felt natural to me with the narrative I had established.

Even now I have 5 scenes outlined for chapter 22, but as I started writing it this morning, I am leaning toward blending it into 4 or 3 scenes. Oh- my scene should have a standalone point to accomplish, and if that point isn’t clear or can be accomplished in another way, then it gets moved or blended. I don’t really jot things down on paper- but I have two documents- the writing doc, and the story doc. Writing doc has the outline, I always write with my outline heading just below my cursor so I can keep looking down at my goals and construct the scene from there. The story doc is where I cut and paste it into the whole thing. Sometimes as I scroll to find where I am in the doc, I will add something or edit something, before putting in the next bit at the end.

This is what chapter 18-19-20 looked like on Feb 9th in my outline : [1.. After their pathetic attempts to decorate Alex‘s leg was starting to bother him. Michael took one look at him and advised that he remove the prosthetic. Alex protested mildly about being seen that way. Michael reassured him that Isabell not only knew but didn’t care.

1a. - Isobel and Kyle arrive- she found him in the grocery store attempting to leave with the last baked ham - Mom working a double, Rosa was going to midnight mass with Arturo and Liz- 1b. Isabell and Michael have a quiet talk that Alex overhears while he changes and removes his leg for the night-. He discusses talking to Maria and reframing some of what Alex had said. 1c- walks past them to the kitchen with Kyle]

[2.  Isobel and Kyle show up  to the cabin for Christmas Eve- Isobel sleeps over. Michael offers the spare, Kyle takes the couch, Alex objects to Michael sleeping in the airstream. ]

[ 3. Alex wakes up to an alert on the day after  Christmas Day that gets an alert about someone at the cave. Finds Michael staring at Jesse and not Max.. Why did you think you were like him- that night that Noah died. What did that mean. It means he was ruthless about his agenda and so am I. I’ll do anything to protect you. Michael is silent and closed off, but follows him back to the cabin - knowledge from the ship piece ]

ONE MONTH LATER on March 10 the notes looked like this based on how the story looked: [2.  Isobel and Kyle stay in the face of the weather- Isobel sleeps over. Michael offers the spare, Kyle takes the Airstream ,Michael volunteers himself to sleep with Alex - Michael quietly explains he isn’t going to have a conversation with anyone afterward, Christmas gift exchange- Michael gives him the handprint- remnant from the console and his mother, sharing the intensity - they have sex  ]

[ 3. Alex wakes up to intense sorrow by Michael via the handprint n the day after  Christmas Day that gets an alert about someone at the cave. Finds Michael staring at Jesse and not Max.. Why did you think you were like him- that night that Noah died. What did that mean. They discuss Alex’s family and the future- do you think you would ever forgive them? I’ve been mad at Max, but if he came back today I would take him back, What about Flint and what he did ? Do you think he’s sorry? knowledge from the ship piece- soul mates, forever tied together ]

Err— I’m long winded, so did I answer your questions? Feel free to ask more!!

[okimargarvez]

NO SMOKING HAVING SEX IN THE PLANE

Original title: No smoking having sex in the plane.

Prompt: BAU couples play an exciting game.

Warning: none.

Genre: funny, family, romantic.

Characters: Penelope Garcia, Luke Alvez, Spencer Reid, Lila Archer, Jennifer Jareau, Will LaMontagne Jr, Emily Prentiss, Andrew Mendoza, Phil Brooks, Matt Simmons, Kristy Simmons, O.C.

Pairing: Garvez, Willifer, Prendoza, Spencer x Lila, Katt, Phil x O.C.

Note: part 85 in Garvez canon Life.

Legend: 💏👓🔦🎈.

Song mentioned: none.

GARVEZ STORIES

NO SMOKING HAVING SEX IN THE PLANE

 The hurt expression on the blond woman's face could definitely get her an Oscar prize. -Did you tell Garcia and not me?- she exclaims, incredulous, looking first at the main subject, albeit implicit, of her sentence, then her friend.

-Technically I didn't tell her, because...- Spencer tries to justify himself, but he is anticipated and silenced by another blonde, slightly younger, who really knows something about Oscar stuff.

-We met them at the science fair.- she answers in his place, running her hand along the sofa until her fingers intertwine with those of the brilliant doctor, who blushes slightly. Penelope rests her head on that of her boyfriend, trembling with joy to see her little Reid finally happy.

-Thank you.- exclaims JJ. -I thank you very much for existing, Lila.- she adds, to better underline the concept. -I have never seen anyone shut him up like this.- in her head it sounded like a funny joke, but she soon realizes that the others have misinterpreted it, because they stare at her with malicious expressions. It all started when Spencer presented himself at the Embarrassing Questions evening accompanied by a beautiful blonde who she had already seen somewhere, and precisely when poor Mendoza had asked one of the questions on the card he had picked. How long have you been together? He is her best friend, it is obvious that she was a little upset that he didn't tell her anything, but she can understand why. -What is it, what did I say wrong?- her husband touches her shoulder, shaking his head.

-Forget it, love.- another chorus of laughter spreads across the room.

-We continue to play or not?- Phil asks after a few seconds, breaking the atmosphere of playfulness and hands that, furtively, try to give caresses, to tickle. Including that of his girlfriend. -I'm falling asleep.- which doesn't lose some time to reproach him.

-I told you that you work too much.- she snorts and looks for the support of his best friend. -Luke, please tell him too.- the man called into question must force himself to focus on something other than the breast of Penelope, that is pressed against his arm. He should have gotten used to it by now, and instead... -He doesn't listen to me.- the red-haired woman who now officially joined the group, like Phil himself, is still complaining.

-It's useless, he's a stubborn.- Luke tries to explain, receiving a weak fist in his ribs in return. -Ouch!- he pretends that Penelope has hurt him and turns to his blonde, looking for help and understanding. And maybe cuddles and kisses later, kisses on the booboo. -Babe, don't you defend me?- he asks her, not at all ashamed to call her that in front of his friends, something that only a few months before was unthinkable.

-Should I defend you?- she replies with another question. Then she bursts out laughing, and exchanges an eloquent look with all the women present. -I forgot you are the weaker sex.- no man dares to protest, agreeing that in the end she's right.

Before the situation can completely degenerate, Emily, as the highest federal authority, decides to take it in her hand. -All right, let's go on.- Andrew caresses her knee for a moment, looking at her as if to thank her. She's not used to this yet. -Who did the next question ask?- then she remembers. -It's your turn, Spencer.- she says.

The youngest of the group picks a card from the deck, looks at it from one side, turns it over, and continues to stare at it, when almost everyone here knows that he doesn't really need all that time to read a few lines. -Why did I have allow myself to come here?- he mumbles, glaring at his girlfriend, who doesn't seem upset.

Emily continues to make fun of him amicably. -Is that the question I have to answer?- she asks, using a serious tone. But Spencer doesn't pay any attention, too busy assessing which of the two is the best choice.

-No, but...- he shakes his head. -They are one worse than the other. I can’t. I can't do it, I pull myself out. I give up. I surrender.- Prentiss has a flashback of another of the very rare moments where the doctor had said something similar, aboard a jet, in front of a chess-board, and to Gideon.

But Lila knows her weapons and knows how to use them. -Come on, puppy, it's just a harmless game. Do it for me.- every male present knows that surrender has been signed.

 A few questions later, Samantha has less trouble in deciding both which question to ask, and especially to whom. She points directly at Penelope, like an intelligent missile launched from a submarine. -What is the strangest place where you did it?- she asks, striving to the maximum to not smile maliciously.

Exactly as she expected, Penelope, known for having responded to a call from the former chief supervisor of the unit, Erin Strauss, with a sentence that was certainly not professional, opens her eyes, her mouth, and looks incredulously at her friend. -I'm not going to answer a question like that.- she says, crossing her arms and blushing under layers of makeup.

-Why not, Pen?- Sammie pricks her. -There is nothing wrong.- the redhead is perfectly aware that as soon as she gets the chance, the computer technician will take her revenge. She is not a girl who bears a grudge, she understood this right away, but here, it is precisely a game, and every move is allowed, within the game itself.

-We work with almost every person present.- she tries to make her think, but wherever she looks, she catches eager gazes to know her answer. -It is really too embarrassing, even for me.- she clings to Luke's hand and squeezes it, hard, until she hurts him, but he, like a strong and stoic man, doesn’t emit sound.

Emily sighs. -Have you broken any rules?- she asks her, hoping Penelope will say no.

But the friend cannot satisfy her. -In fact, yes.- really thinking about it makes her laugh.

-Was it a public place?- Matt continues the interrogation.

Luke comes to her rescue, responding in her place. -Not really.- he giggles too.

Kristy feels the lawyer in her emerge. -C' mon, surely the crime now is past the statute of limitation. No shame, right?- occupational hazard.

-Ok.- Penelope surrenders. -The strangest place we've done it, it is... on a plane.- she reveals.

-Please tell me it's not our jet.- JJ begs her. Someone else giggles.

-No, even if it's an idea to consider... I'm kidding! Maybe.- she adds.

-You were right, Em’.- Andrew whispers in the ear of the chief of the BAU. -We did well to come here instead of staying home alone.- she blushes slightly.

-But now it's getting late, and I think it's better if we go to sleep... each in their own bed.- Phil cares to specify.

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

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[lostsummerdayz]

Lost Summer Deep Dive - Christie Monteiro Part 1

An In-Depth Look At A Capoeirista Forgotten By Lore

by Nay Holland

When one thinks of capoeira, it is impossible to mention the impact video games had in bringing the art into the public eye. Sure, there have been movies, books, and capoeira schools for as long as the art existed, but video games were arguably the form of media which made the art popular. The same could be said for its representation in video games.

While you had capoeiristas like Richard Meyer and Bob Wilson in the Fatal Fury series, it wouldn’t be until years later that a rich Brazilian capoeirista known as Eddy Gordo would set the bar. No, he wouldn’t just set the bar, he would be the bar himself.

In arcades during the year of 1997 and home consoles the following year, many a player felt rage from a single man. A man whose flips, spins, handstands, and kicks, would bring awe to those who played him, and frustration to those who fought against it. He was both famous for moves never seen before in a 3D fighter, and infamous for being the definition of “cheap.”

Regardless how you felt about him, there was no denying that Eddy was different from the rest of the cast. In a game where homages to Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, and Tiger Mask were evident, there was nothing who was comparable to Eddy at the time. His unique, yet slightly exaggerated, homage to capoeira brought new fans into the art. Capoeira became a popular buzz word for fighting enthusiasts almost overnight.

But was Eddy always considered to be the face of capoeira?

After Tekken Tag Tournament, Eddy was noticeably absent from the main roster. In place of him was a young Brazilian woman by the name of Christie Monteiro. A fresh face for a game that represented a new era in Tekken, her moves were very similar to Eddy’s.

In fact, apart from her normal throws, her movelist were identical to Eddy’s in every way. Eddy being a palette swap for her in Tekken 4 and Tekken 5 brought the “Christie is Eddy” angle to its head. At the time, although Eddy was included in these two games, Bandai Namco was trying to push Christie as the new face.

At the very least, they were trying to push a woman as the capoeira representative from the very beginning.

In a 1998 CVG interview, following the release of Tekken 3, the development team discussed how the concept of Eddy came about. When asked how the team went about designing its roster of characters, the team replied with the following.

“A good example is Eddy, since he wasn't planned to be the character you see at first. The development team wanted to include a character who used Capoeira, so the idea was passed on to the artist team. Mr Kimoto requested the artist to make a female character for Capoeira. However the artist said it was too difficult to design a female character who used Capoeria, so there came Eddy.” 

It wouldn’t be until Dark Resurrection that Eddy had his own slot on the roster for the first time since Tekken Tag Tournament.

With the separation of the two characters at last, Christie’s push would be put on the backburner in lieu of Eddy’s importance to the story. Christie’s relevance came to a screeching halt in Tekken 7 as Eddy was one of the final main roster characters revealed without a Brazilian woman in sight.

NO!!!

Anyways, Christie wouldn’t make another official appearance until the mobile Tekken game, but considering the mobile Tekken game is literally a dump of old characters that didn’t make the cut in Tekken 7, that’s hardly a victory.

I started writing this back in early 2018, and since then, we’ve gotten Marduk back from the graveyard!

However, I’ve long since stopped holding out for hope. If she shows up, she shows up. If she doesn’t, well. It still won’t dilute the amount of love I have for this girl. Hopefully by the end of this I can shed some light on what makes Christie amazing to me.

So, what happened? How did the one who was pushed to be the babyface of capoeira after Eddy’s origin ended up becoming the queen of the indies known as mobile Tekken? What is it about Christie that makes me admire her as a character? Well, let’s start with her design.

Appearance

So, imagine the year 2001. You’re in the arcades and you see Tekken 4 for the first time. The attract video plays and you’re in wow at the graphics. Especially considering this is the first Tekken on a new engine in the arcade at least. Then suddenly you see this mami twirling and making sensual poses, flashing the biggest grin.

It was at this point you dumped quarters in the machine. Don’t lie. This totally didn’t happen to me at an arcade while I was in the Poconos. Nope.

I remember the rumors at the time. Everyone thought the designers took inspiration from Tyra Banks and Harada himself de-confirmed this.

Wearing a low-cut green floral blouse that cuts above her midriff, black leather hotpants with frills at the end, black fingerless gloves, and Spartan-style sandals, Christie’s primary outfit was made to turn heads and accentuate her features. As with most outfits and hair designs in this game, Christie’s design was also made to show off the new graphics engine for Tekken. Christie’s long brunette hair, coupled with her loose-fitting clothing, flows with the wind with every kick and acrobatic motion. Her design was made for comfort in mind as well as ease of movement.

Christie’s competitor’s outfit is a brassiere-style top with silk training pants and green fingerless gloves. Wrapped around her waist is a capoeira belt, much like Eddy’s competitor’s outfit. Whether this is an actual representation of her rank, or just a design choice, is up in the air. I’d like to say it’s the latter, though I believe a purple belt is a high ranking in capoeira.

Comparing Christie and Eddy’s competitor’s outfit, they aren’t too different from each other. In fact, side by side they appear like partners rather than a radical difference.

Following her debut, her primary outfit changes from a green to a light purple top and black to white colored hotpants. The top of her competitive gear is more confined and stylish while retaining the same effect as it did before. As the series progressed, her butterfly motif became more prevalent in her clothing.

With such a dynamic taste in style, one would think that her personality is just as bubbly, and you’d be correct to think so.

Personality

Pointing at her opponent with finger guns and firing off in their direction, Christie enters her ginga stance with a declaration…

“Here we go!”

Oozing with confidence no matter who she is fighting against, Christie never backs down from an opportunity to show off her studies in Capoeira arts.

Christie makes it clear to her competitors that if they take her lightly, they will pay for it in a loss.

Perhaps one of my favorite exchanges with another character is when she fights Bruce in Tekken 5. Bruce exclaims that the “competition has gotten easier on the eyes,” in which Christie taunts him in return. When Bruce questions if her capoeira can stand up to [his Muay Thai], she replies with a sultry tone of confidence.

Ultimately, Christie would win the bout and she toys with him, saying that his lack of rhythm will be the reason why he will never defeat her.

It’s exchanges like this, as well as her other intro pose where she blows her opponent a kiss and declares them to “go easy on her,” that she uses her looks to her advantage. It’s almost as a form of intimidation, being caught off guard by swift kicks coming at you at every direction while she emerges the victor, leaving the battle almost unscathed.

There is a depth to this. When things get serious, Christie has a sense of justice within the confines of her own capability. This is commonly brought up whenever Eddy runs off headfirst into danger.

In the same game, when she runs into Eddy, she doesn’t back down from fighting Eddy to save her grandfather’s life. Win or lose, she will fight her hardest for those who she loves, even if it means fighting the one person, she loves the most.

She’s also highly emotional as an individual as evident when she shows her disappointment at the end of her winning the 4th Iron Fist Tournament. This changes to a complete 180 as she sees the one person who she has been looking for all tournament, immediately returning to her bubbly cheerful self. A dark version of this trait shows when she is overburdened with emotion to the point of tears upon discovering that her grandfather passed away.

This combination of a flirtatious happy-go-lucky capoeirista who revels in her fights and a woman who is bound to protect those who she holds dear comes into full force in Tekken 6. Although in the overall canon she takes a backseat, controlling her in Scenario mode reveals hidden layers about her character.

One of the hypothetical scenarios that is brought up is when Christie and Eddy do cross paths in Scenario mode. If the former approaches Eddy, he will exclaim that she shouldn’t be here in high concern. If the latter approaches Christie, she will appear angry that he has, once again, decided to be inconsiderate in being brash for considering working with “Public Enemy #1.”

Both Eddy and Christie wish to protect each other, yet they do so by ironically placing themselves into harms way. While on a larger scale, they are two small fish in the giant ocean that is the Mishima bloodline story. If one zooms in on the microscope, you see two troubled young adults who wish to live in peace. One is bound by vengeance while the other is bound by duty.

Story

While Tekken 4 is the first time we see and hear of Christie, that game is not the first time we hear of her story. In Tekken 3’s prologue, Eddy was incarcerated after being framed for the murder of his father. During his sentence, he learns the art of capoeira from an elderly master. Up until his release, Eddy perfected the art of capoeira and entered the third King of Iron Fist tournament to exact

That elderly man was none other than…

Well…

The old man never had an official name. The Tekken wiki has his name as

DENSETSU NO KAPOEIRA MASUTAA

or the “Legendary Capoeira Master.”

For a while, the urban legend regarding his name was “Ho Chi Myong,” but unlike the Tara Banks inspiration, this wasn’t ever confirmed by Bandai Namco. I don’t think it ever will.

The one thing that was confirmed, however, was that the

DENSETSU NO KAPOEI---I’m sorry.

The elderly capoeira master was Christie’s grandfather. How did Christie herself know capoeira? Through Eddy, as a form of mutual respect for her grandfather teaching him the art. Suddenly Christie and Eddy having identical moves isn’t farfetched.

However, I always wondered why Christie’s grandfather never taught her capoeira himself? The obvious answer would be because he, too, was imprisoned. Still, you’d consider that maybe he would have taught her when she was a child or began to teach her. Who knows?

At the end of the King of Iron Fist Tournament 3, Eddy finds out that it was Kazuya Mishima who orchestrated the events which led to his father’s murder and his own imprisonment. Since then, he has sought out to find Kazuya and settle the score on his own terms.

Enter Tekken 4, where a concerned Christie realizes Eddy has gone missing. In her response, she spends the 4th Iron Fist Tournament looking for Eddy, sensing trouble brewing on the horizon.

Honestly this was Eddy’s fault to begin with. Had Eddy not told Christie that he was going to avenge his father’s death, she wouldn’t have bothered to put herself in harm’s way. However, Christie’s story had to start somewhere yeah?

In the end, Eddy doesn’t find Kazuya, but, if we take Christie’s ending in Tekken 4 as canon, we can deduce some details.

Christie wins the iron fist tournament, incredibly bemused, as she failed at her original goal in locating Eddy. However, seeing a familiar face in the crowd, she runs over to Eddy in a full embrace. Eddy appears in this ending with a cast on his arm, so it is assumed that his progress in finding his father’s murderer ended prematurely. Even so, despite his lack of success, he still shows up to his girl’s victory match in support. What a romantic.

Several months later, tragedy strikes. Christie’s grandfather is inflicted with an illness and the race to find enough money to pay for the operation begins. In the end, no matter who wins the tournament, they use their prize money to pay for the operation which turns out to be a success. Christie, Eddy, and her grandfather are all seen at a park practicing capoeira and everyone lives happily ever after, right!?

Unfortunately, not.

Several years later and the climate is different. Jin Kazama wages war against the world and it turns out that neither Christie nor Eddy was able to win the tournament after all.

Running out of time and resources, Jin makes a deal with Eddy. If Eddy works for him and helps exact Jin’s vengeance against Kazuya, then Jin will help pay for the operation. Considering this as an opportunity to become in direct contact with Kazuya, the murderer of his father, it’s a win win for Eddy.

He didn’t want to be a part of this war, but for the safety of the one person who was a father figure for him and the chance to kill the one who has caused him years of torment, he will take up a gun for Jin.

So, where does this leave Christie? Back to where we once were in Tekken 4, on the lookout for Eddy and her grandfather.

Do you see where I’m getting at now? “As the series progressed, Christie’s role became diluted?”

The sad part is that Christie is not the only character to suffer through this “character dilution.” The4thSnake’s video on Asuka Kazama goes over the same points that I could ever make, so please give that video a watch when you can. In Tekken 6, if it wasn’t Mishima related, it was on the backburner.

Once again, both parties are unsuccessful. Christie never finds a cure for her grandfather’s illness and he succumbs. Eddy is deceived by Jin, refusing to hold his end of the bargain, and is unable to save his master’s life. While visiting his grandfather’s grave, Christie discovers Eddy.

Instead of a warming reunion, Christie, in a fit of rage and sadness, slaps him while demanding where he was. In response, Eddy stands there, motionless, as he throws his Mishima Zaibatsu pin to the ground.

This is where Christie’s story ends. Officially.

What began as a bright young capoeira student ended a grieving shell of a person, thanks to the dishonesty of Mishimas and Eddy for pulling a Knuckles and believing Eggman---Jin Kazama.

If we look at the Tag 2 endings and assume, they take place after 6, Eddy takes a page out of King’s book and opens up a capoeira school for orphaned children. After some time passes, he embarks on a trip to become the world greatest stuntman the Mishima Zaibatsu has ever seen!

No of course not he’s going to confront his father and master’s murderers of course! What else would Eddy POSSIBLY do at this point!?

In Christie’s ending, as a continuation, she catches wind of this and chases Eddy, but, as history tends to repeat itself, she’s too late. Eddy is already on the train.

Some. Things. Never. Change.

At least she was spared a grim fate, unlike our friend here.

Conclusion

So. Where do we go from here? From the beginning, we know that Eddy is an integral part of Christie’s story. However, there are signs in her design that shows she can hold her own, both in a fight and in her sense of justice.

I recommend anyone to play through Scenario mode with all of the available roster and not just Lars, but in Scenario mode, Christie has a sense of justice that almost felt refreshing. It wasn’t just simply “where’s Eddy,” but it was also “I have to stop the messed up things from going on in the world”

Earlier I posted a photo where she confronts Eddy for working with the Mishimas and she has no qualms in defeating him to knock sense into him. I also mentioned the confrontation between Bruce and Christie, which is just about non-canon as far as Tekken 6 is confirmed. They treat their encounter as if it was the first time they’ve ever met. Bummer.

But there are signs of life for this character and when it shows, it’s refreshing to see. Christie is not the only character who suffers from this, but she is the one who is marred by the reputation of “always being in Eddy’s shadow.”

When discussion is brought up on why she shouldn’t be in the game? “Eddy is already in there.”

When the game throws her into a repeat storyline for the third straight game in the series? “Eddy is already there.”

Why is Christie out and about? “Her grandfather, but Eddy is there as well.”

Part of the reason why I considered myself a Christie main is because Christie is an underdog in the Tekken universe as well as within the competitive scene.

The irony here is that Christie was meant to replace Eddy, but the inverse happened.

One day, Christie can exist without having to worry about being in Eddy’s shadow. A fan can dream. Until then, I’ll always consider her my favorite fighting game character so there’s no replacing that at least.

There will be a Part 2 to this as there’s one key game that she’s a part of where she does regain some of that luster I wish she had in the main series. A game that is largely underrated but a game where Christie has had her moment in the sun.

Stay tuned for Part 2 soon! If you weren’t sick of me talking about Christie and made it this far, congrats! Stick around for the follow-up!