#script may be planned but i am an idiot Explore tagged Tumblr posts

[kaleaido]

having the reread IWTT cause I'm out of the loop with that gayass comic even though i was the one who made it is embarrassing

[wegonbealright-09]

i tried hard not to post anything about my vmin thoughts because it seems like its everybody's heartbreaking topic. but still im here on one of my faves' tumblr pages.

i do believe that all bts members are friends - one way or another. but each friendship in this group is different - like in real life. some members can be these really close friends who constantly talk with each other on the phone, go out on weekends, have fun in every possible situation. some can understand each other well but don't hang out much only when it is needed. some can be just colleagues with 10 years of working together and litteraly survivng in this whole terrible world - they can also be called friends but not in a "best buddy" meaning, working next to each other for such a long time can also bring people closer. in other words, there are many types of friendship. what is more, people do change. so do their relationships. especially when you are popular/a star. you have no other option but to change yourself according to mass wishes.

next thing i want to say is that we are talking about idols. a lot of things they do in their lives are... fanservice. and fanservice is their job. and their job gives them money. fanservice is quite a sensitive topic. i mean, which of their actions can be called fanservice and which - not? we'll never know. but we still need to remember that some things can be pre-planned and scripted. especially such things as skinship, loving eyes, loud words as "i love you more than anyone else", etc.

vmin. how do i see them?

i believe that many years ago they became friends. they are the same age. they wanted to make friends. their characters and views on the nearest future did match. they wanted to have fun. they needed someone to be close to and to support them. they were bandmates after all and spent 24 hours a day together. voila!

but. they were yound maximalists on the one hand. on the other hand, they were public figures. don't you want to make the most of your friendship? i mean, to show it to the whole world? ofc you do. that's how this "soulmates thing" came about.

and company which sees everything is not consisted of idiots. two members are good friends. they call themselves soulmates. their fans like it. what does the company need to do? ofc, push it. push it day after day. and make money on it. and when smth makes the company good money it will never let it go.

however people do change. and jimin and th changed. and here goes my secret perspective of them. truth to be told, i don't consider them close friends now. just colleages with a great bonding history behind their backs. and for me they are not close for at least 3 years.

fame is not a good thing. fame do change people. and it changed th for the worse. why only th? you may say that im just heavily jimin-biased (and i am), but some things th did actually speak volumes for me. i don't mean that jimin is some kind of an angel and th is a devil, but i see that th changed more. and his changes do not look good. jimin is also an idol after all and he craves popularity too but ig his human principles value more (as well as his desire to develop, to work more). while th seeks praise but doesnt want to push himself too hard. i believe they tried to find smth in common/smth that can again bring them together but failed. now they just don't try anymore. and it is visible.

i believe a lot of things th said about vmin and his love for jimin at the very beginning were true. but most things he said about his friendship with jimin from 2019 (or even earlier) to 2023 is... fanservice. there is no going back for them. now they need to play the role. their company still wants money from "soulmates". but when soulmates are not needed on the scene, jimin and th are nowhere to be found together. it doesn't mean they hate each other. as i said, they are time-tested colleagues with a good basis in the form of strong friendship. but... just colleagues. with the most unnatural hugs in public.

.

Hi anon I want to take you out on a date like a real date I want to wine and dine you better than a psychic fr you literally put my thoughts into words, hit me tf up I need some heavily jimin biased people on my blog.

[dreamerswriter]

I Watched This Recently and It is Actually Pretty Good

Hey everyone! So, I don’t know when I’ll make the youtube video for this, but I plan to once I am done with classes. So, here’s the script for it since I finished writing it. This is basically what I would personally hope for if they ever come back and make another season of this or two. I think two would be better, but it will likely get one. Regardless, there is something here and I love this show way more than I thought I would. I do highly recommend it for the animation, style, story, and if you need a laugh and some good moments. 

To clarify something, I did watch this when I started high school. I didn’t get to finish it, because life happens and Disney wasn’t showing it much on my end. I finally finished it in a month, so yeah.

May 7, 2022: I updated this to add one more part to this. I will have the video on my channel on May 9th! Thanks for reading and enjoying this!

May 9, 2022: Here’s the link to video if you want that. I don’t know if you do since there is this already, but it doesn’t hurt to share. 

https://href.li/?https://youtu.be/uK516qs5BWw

I have nothing else to say other than I would honestly like another season. So, here’s the script I wrote for if this show got another season or two. I’ll make the video soonish. I also plan to do a review video on it too. Either way, I like this. He feels like a high school kid and did half the nonsense my friends and I did when we were his age. We weren’t smart and we are barely smart now. Enjoy! 

Introduction:

Hello everyone, I am the writer, I have no words to describe the nonsense this show is, but here we are. To be honest, I like this, because it is my guilty pleasure with magical girl shows and an idiot clearly in over his head and being a normal teenager.

Again, this show is going through a renaissance right now, and I have no clue. The best I can come up with is that Ben Schwartz being Sonic launched this, but I don't know. Or, it is because Kick Buttwaski got the third season, and fans of this show want it. To be honest, I do too. There is something here and it has a charm to it. The humor and style, and the characters. It is great and consistent and finished the main goal of it.

Rules

So, I don't know where to start with this, but I will keep some rules in mind as I write this.

I will keep the episodes in the 15-minute format.

Randy will appear in all the episodes

I will keep all the cast the same. Not adding nor subtracting anyone.

The sorcerer will not return to be a major character in the newer seasons.

Just a personal note, please don't change the animation. I love it. It is so good. I think it is wonderful. Please do not change it.

Also, these are just my ideas. This is just what I think would be fun to see if the show ever continues or gets picked up. This is just what I hope to see. I am sure a ton of fans have ideas of their own and maybe they are secretly working on this and already have the entire thing planned out from beginning to end. Also, this is for fun!  And you can have your ideas. So, just enjoy it and have fun. Again, for fun!

If anyone from the show is watching this for some odd reason, you are free to take this and use it. I am not kidding. I want to see this end, so if this helps, please take it. I just want to see more of this show and the content. Please do more with this show.

I will make this assumption. Randy and his classmates might be juniors if we pick this up. The reason I believe this is because he had a chemistry textbook in season 2. I can believe that he and his classmates wear the same clothes to high school for two years and that he was a sophomore. I do believe he is junior now with most of the cast. I'm also basing this off the public school system in North America because he is clearly from one.

I believe two more seasons would be the best to wrap this up.

Each season is a year of high school which I think is fine. You would normally graduate in four years anyway.

Season 3 will be a junior year and the last and fourth one will be a senior year.

Also, they need new clothes. I do love how they do have different outfits, but for junior and senior years, they should get a new wardrobe. I think it would reflect the passage of time.

Also, and I cannot believe I am saying this, thanks to Disney plus, they can come back to this and work on it. Also, I think this would benefit from a whole release than a weekly one considering it is an animated series. Similar to how Visions was released. That would work out well for it.

I think that’s it.

We will start with season 3.

Sorcerer's Origin

So, let's address one episode I think we all want and will kind of break a rule.

One episode that can be a two-part special is the sorcerer. I know I said we should move on from this guy, but I think an origin story would be fine. It can start the third season off with Randy sitting in his new room and reading the book and seeing the origin of the Sorcerer which can lead to the new antagonist the sorcerers. She got out of the land of shadows once, she can do it again. I think it would work well and even see the return of the First one and his sidekick. This can be two parts to pace itself and also get the audience caught up to the third season.

The Book

I know we love the 800-year-old non-binary book, but I want an episode on it. I know it is alive because it reacts to Randy and the situation he is in. It also created an evil version of him and has done so many things that I want an explanation. That can be 15 minutes, but to tie into this, we could get the second part being the book's perspective. I will be honest, I thought we would've gotten an episode on the book's POV. I'm surprised they never did that. I would love to see the book's POV on some situations Randy gets himself into. We can even have the First one and his sidekick appearing.

Sorceress' Return

Again, she got out before, she can get out again. I also think this would be an interesting parallel to Randy. Look, we all know Theresa is supposed to be his love interest, but I can see her becoming a tri protagonist to Randy and Howard and that's not a bad thing. Sam, Danny, and Tucker are a trio, heck kingdom hearts exists, so it can work. I think she's spunky enough to join them and go on adventures. I'll talk about her in the next section

As for the sorceress, she could return and try to steal energy from others and go after Randy once she discovers that he made the sorcerer turn good and gain peace. Heck, she can take different forms and stay at the school.

She could also stink Randy and Howard, two characters who haven't had those forms. It would be interesting to see and figure out how to save them. I really can see her being the next threat.

Theresa Being a Protagonist

I believe she was going to have a bigger role in the next season since she was featured in the final ish. I know I am grasping at straws, but I can see her becoming a protagonist. She does open a lot of potential storylines in the series.

I feel like her and the Sorceress would be an interesting parallel. We don't know much about the sorceress's relationship with the sorcerer other than they love to cause chaos together, but considering she manipulates boys to do her bidding and to earn her affection, I don't know how long that relationship would've lasted.

As for Theresa, she likes Randy for who he is and what he does. She doesn't want him to change and wants him to be who he is. There are little deleted moments where she is sad he doesn't think about asking her to the dance in the episode. She is confident, but she does love Randy for who she is. Even if we don't quite understand it.

With her, you can also do plotlines that can have her finding out who Randy is, and maybe she gets a turn with the suit. She can get sucked into the book. Her relationship with Debbi would be interesting to see. Heck, maybe something with the cheer team. I can honestly see that being interesting episodes. She would be a calmer version of Sam, but still have the spunk to help out and go on adventures.

Randy's Parents

I know this show has done fine without his parents, but I think it would be nice to see his parents. We know he has a mother who comes and goes. She probably has a job. We know he has a father, but we have no idea what either of them does as a job. He does have a good relationship with both since they do give him a curfew and don't hesitate to punish him when he does mess up. I also think the mother must be aware that her son is the Ninja and that would be a good dynamic. I can also see her supporting her son as being the Ninja. As for the father, I have no idea. We know more about the mom than the dad. I also don't think they need to appear more. Just do one episode with his mother and then the second one with the father. Then, they could appear here and there. They don't need to be main characters, but they will be there on and off which I think is fine.

Prom

This is one of the highlights of high school. One is not all the highlights of high school. I can see this being a huge shipping moment for Randy and Theresa and technically Howard and Debbi too since Howard kind of has an interest in her, but I can also see him and Howard messing up everyone else's prom. I don't know. I feel like this would be an episode where something plot-important would happen along with shipping moments. It is prom! Let them have a dance! Randy can dance and Theresa is a cheerleader, give it to me!

Conclusion to Season 3

To be entirely honest, I have no idea how this will end. I hope it ends similarly to how Howard sort of helps him defeat his enemies, but with Theresa too. Yes, if it isn't obvious enough, I love them. they're so cute together. I think it would be a fitting end to the sorcerers too. Being defeated by their version of love, I don't know. I know romance is not the point of this show, but I think it would be sweet. At the same time, I don't know how many people would be fine with that. I think it would work as a way to parallel how Randy and Howard did work together to sort of stop evil Julian. Having Theresa help Randy beat the sorcerers would be a good parallel too. Either way, I think it would work.

Hopefully, she'll either find peace or something else. I think she'll be defeated than find peace. I think that would be an interesting ending for her, but since this show does redeem or give its characters peaceful endings, she'll have one. Maybe she'll move on from love and magic or find her love. I don't know, someone else writes the ending for me.

Then, we have Season 4

Viceroy as the Final Main Antagonist

The past seasons are a villain origin story if I ever saw one forming besides Harry Osborn. The way his boss treated him! I'm honestly surprised he hasn't started a coup! He could do it. He's evil enough too, but also, he's redeemable too. I don't think it would be like the sorcerers, but something else. Like an apology but heartfelt. Again, this man is one bad day from being a villain and we've seen it throughout the show too. If anything precious to him is lost, he will destroy the city for it. All I am saying is that man did see where the Chaos Pearls fell and would be able to figure out how to use it.

McFist + Viceroy Past

We know McFist and the ninja of 85 had a past together and that his wife was a daycare worker. But how did they meet? What did Viceroy get out of this? Seriously, why do you bother to work for the worst person in the universe? What do you gain out of this?! Please tell me! Also, and yeah, I'm not a fan of the wealthy man, but how did he lose an arm and then give it a brain? That's a story! That's a story! But mainly, I want Viceroy. I do.  Sure, evil college school was cool, but how did you meet this terrible person? Tell me!

The Last 8 Chapters + Spider-Verse But Ninjas

I love the first Ninja and we get another one who is Kronk. I think a good idea would be for Randy to see some other notable ninjas in a spider verse kind of way but either with time travel or something happening to the book. This book has been alive for 800 years. I want to see more of them! Show me more! I think it would work. This could also help them revisit old concepts or even help him finish training the last 8 chapters since this kid is supposed to be the chosen one which is insane. I don’t know who decided that, but all right. I think it would work and show each Ninja helping him learn the last 8 chapters. This would be an interesting arch in this season, because again, Viceroy seems to be a bigger threat.

The Creeper

Going to be entirely honest, I think Randy would keep his memory of the book. I believe some people might’ve kept their memory of being the ninja. I can see him being one of them. Heck, maybe the Creeper will give him the book and become the guardian. Of course, that depends if Randy wants to go to college or do something else with his life which is also a valid way to end this.

Either way, he and the swordsmith need an episode about their pasts. I can see this also being a two-part episode, but I think four would be better to flesh it out.

Tengu's Past

So, he burnt the mask. Unless every ninja goes through this, the Tengu fireball is something unique to Randy, right? I have no clue. I want to know more about the bird. So bad. I want to know how this existed and was sealed into a stone. How does this work? Are there more mythical creatures? Why didn't the first one use it? I have so many questions and so few answers!

And they could even bring back a concept that was featured in the games a cold form of the suit. Again, there are interesting concepts. I wouldn't be surprised that besides the tengu, there is something else in the suit. I believe it could work too. But how did he meet the bird and why don't we see more of it? I want him to summon it like a persona! What can I say, I'll always be a video game nerd first.

Conclusion to Season 4

If anyone is going to reveal Randy's Identity, it's Viceroy. This would be a four-part ending too. I can see Viceroy revealing Randy's identity in the first part of the final and then having to deal with that.

Also, magic and machines are not a combination you want to fight. That would overwhelm Randy. However, I think this final would be in four parts, and Howard and Theresa would do something to help him with Creeper too.

For the first two-part episode, I can see Viceroy revealing who Randy is to everyone as Viceroy goes mad with power and tries to destroy the world. Heck, maybe he damages or destroys the Nomicon. There's your angst to anyone who ships Randy with the book! As for how Howard and Theresa could help, I can see them picking Randy and helping him through the pain of losing the book and possibly dooming their city. They can similarly help him as to how MJ and Ned did in Spider-Man No Way Home and Far From Home. I can see Theresa stealing the Chaos Pearls as Howard destroys the machines. I also imagine Randy not being here, because he feels like a failure and beating himself over this mess. Then, the Creeper comes in and helps Randy back up to his feet to fight the Viceroy. I think what would snap Randy back is seeing both Howard and Theresa getting captured by Viceroy. Randy saves them, thanks to them, and goes back to fight the Viceroy.

The second two-part episode can be Randy fighting Viceroy and doing what he can, but his power isn't enough. Randy realizes that he has to get McFist to make him apologize to Viceroy. Of course, he trusts Theresa and Howard. As for Randy, he gets to use the powers of all the Ninjas. I can sort of see him using their skills and teachings as he gets the Chaos Pearls away from Viceroy. Without the magic, Viceroy is still a threat and uses his machines. He effortlessly beats Randy, because again, the engineer is smart and probably programmed his machines to handle their fight against Randy. So, just as Randy is getting beaten, Howard and Theresa arrive with McFist who genuinely apologies to Viceroy for what he has done.  Viceroy calms down and Randy destroys the machines to then destroy the Chaos Pearls once and for all.

Afterward, Viceroy and McFist make up, and the scene changes to them about to graduate from high school. I can see the three of them preparing to get a mind wipe but don't. I think the Creeper would mind-wiping them and I see him giving Randy the book and mask. This would be along the lines of "my time is done. It is your turn". I can see Randy hanging on to the book and mask, but I can also see him heading to college or doing something else. I think both or either works as an ending. But, I think maybe the Creeper will still stay and watch the book and mask, but I don't think Randy will lose his memory. I can honestly imagine the ending scene where a new ninja is watching the school and fighting evil as Randy looks from a distance and smiling, proud and content. But to be honest, I have no clue how this should end, so again, go nuts with this. I think this has the potential to have any kind of ending and that's pretty awesome.

Stuff I wasn't sure where to put in the video, so this is where it goes.

Everyone does not like Bash

I just think it would be hilarious if there was an episode where Bash leaves and then everyone in the school throws a party. I just think that would be hilarious until the book snaps Randy out of it to teach him a lesson.  As for the ending, Bash does leave because he finally graduated, I don't know. Someone can come up with a better reason, or maybe he doesn’t leave. Maybe they interpret it wrong. That is probably what will happen.

Dear Nomicon

I thought the second season was going to have Randy start writing in the book and informing it about what he learned over the years. Yes, I am thinking of Twilight who would write to Princess Celestia. I thought that's what was going to happen. I just think that would've been funny to see, but I also think it would be a good way to show he's moving on and writing lessons for the future ninjas to use. I don't know if they can even use this without fear of copyrights. I just want someone to draw Randy writing in the book and saying "Dear Nomicon, today I learned not to do this stupid thing" To which the book is thinking "I can't believe you needed to learn that, but I am grateful you did"

Nomi Randy

For the small-time, he was out, he caused enough chaos. This makes this better when you realize the First Ninja is watching him too. There is more potential with this …. What even is he? He came from the book…. And has a Boston accent. I have so many questions about this being. So… another episode. Make it a two-part special.

Star Crossover Episode 

If you grew up in the 2000s, then you remember how cool crossover episodes. Billy and Mandy meeting the Kids Next Door to Lilo meeting Kim, Jake, and Penny. Seriously, those were so cool! So, I think out of ever Disney shows around the early 2010s, Star and Randy would've crossed over. For one, in the side game, the two of them have been shown to be good friends. Randy and Star would be good friends, because they are both magical girls. One is clearly based off that while the other has the transformations and power ups. Marco would be losing his mind and freaking out about the chaos. Howard would just be questioning what his life is at this point. Magic, dimensions, and other nonsense. Again, this would be an interesting crossover and just be fun to see. I hope they would get some of the original cast to come back and do this. It would just be fun and doesn't have to be canon unless they want it to. This would be fun to see, but very unlikely to ever happen. 

Conclusion to the Video

This was a video. I am not sure where this came from, and this kind of has nothing to do with the channel's content to an extent. I just thought of this and haven't stopped since. I like this show. It is a lot of fun. Making this video was also fun. I want more of this show and I think it is possible to see more of it, I hope. Also, this was for fun. I am sure everyone has their ideas of their version of how this series should end, and hey, you can share down below if you want. Well, that's it for this video. Thank you for watching, be sure to subscribe, like, and comment, and have a wonderful day! Goodbye.

[elentary]

Black as the devil, pure as an angel

Happy 31st Good Omens anniversary! (i’m late as usual)

A little story about Aziraphale and Crowley popped up in my head and I tried to write it down. 

This is my first story and my first language is not English (so don’t expect a masterpiece out of this): any correction or comment will be appreciated!

(All material related to Good Omens is the property of Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett.)

Black as the devil, pure as an angel

London, Monday, 10th May 2021

"Hey, this is Antony Crowley, you know what to do, do it with style"

-biiiiiiip-

"Ah, hello, it's me… ...Aziraphale! Well, ehm, it's been a while since we spoke and I suppose you're still sleeping in this moment because you aren't answering the phone. I just hope you aren't sleeping on the ceiling or on the walls: I'm pretty confident to say that's not comfortable for your backbone and I know for sure you have a perfect soft bed in your room. Also, last time I saw you up there, I almost had a heart-attack and I'd like to avoid it, even if I'm sure I can't die of that since I'm not human, but… ...oh, I wandered off too much with this!

Ehm, I called to inform you that lately the situation here in London seems to have improved and, since some restrictions have been lifted, I thought we could maybe meet again when you'll wake up: my bookshop will be open just for you at every hour! 

 Oh, don't worry if you'll be a bit sleepy: I'll prepare my special qahwah (kahve/caffè) in a jiffy! Well, it's not so special, it's just an old recipe I learnt because… ...oh, not that, it's a secr…. ehm, it's not important at all!

I… I… hope to see you soon, my chuck-… my dear!"

Aziraphale hung up the phone and started fidgeting with his golden ring almost immediately: "I shouldn't have called him: it didn't go how I planned", he muttered to himself. Unsurprising, the phrase "it went down like a lead balloon" popped up immediately in his head.

He had been rehearsing the call for ten days, preparing himself for every possible scenario, but in the end he went completely off-script after a few words, letting his emotions spill too much in his tone. 

But what worried him the most was the moment he let slip the words "old recipe" from his mouth: not for the recipe per se, but because of the little secret behind it. 

"I'm quite sure - he said out loud using a hopeful tone to calm himself - I was able to stop in time, thanks goodness! I’m sure that he won't ask anything even if Crowley notices something, because he'll think there is just a boring story behind it".

While he was heading for the kitchenette to make a cup of tea (there is no problem that couldn't be fixed with a good cuppa), he halted midway and wondered: "Why did I call coffee in that ancient way?"

The reason for that ancient name was very old, pretty much as old as Aziraphale's secret: a little more than four hundred years old.

Venice, 1596

"...and just a cup of qahwah for me" said a guest all clad in black who was slouching on a chair in the most luxurious house of the city. 

The young waiter who was taking the order, looked at him a bit perplexed for the last order. 

"Right, that was Arabic" chuckled Crowley "bring me some kahve or whatever is called here".

"Oh, caffè, here it’s called caffè here, Siór!” [1] , said the young one, ”How much sugar would you like in your cup?” added hasty at the demon's expression.

“I'll have Sade kahve but with a bit of cardamom. Remember to grind finely the beans”.

The waiter was still lost but the other guest at the table helped him with a smile: "He doesn't want any sugar in his caffè, dear" 

“I'll bring everything as soon as possible" said the young man and, after bowing a little, he headed for the counter.

Aziraphale was a bit surprised by what just happened: "It seems you are the meticulous one today: I have almost never seen you so specific with your food or drink order, unless alcohol was involved". He also added: "I just hope you didn't want to mess with the poor waiter".

No, angel, I didn't pull a prank. I have been drinking coffee for a while: but since my last mission in Malta [2] I have been loving it: Altan was the best at making it, but he went to Rome", Crowley said with a sigh.

"The funniest thing - he continued, smiling - is that I was lured to that because I thought it was an alcoholic drink since they called it qahwah, that also means wine. At first I was a bit disappointed but later I discovered it helps to stay awake during boring stuff: it did wonder with every task Hell gives me."

"I tasted some qahwah some times ago but it was too energetic for me… but maybe I should try it to deal with Gabr… ehm, with tedious tasks". Crowley politely didn't mention Aziraphale's little slip but smiled a bit inside.

When the order arrived the angel observed how his partner smelled and tasted happily the concoction humming approvingly: 

"I didn't think you were a coffee connoisseur" Aziraphale joked. 

"It's not so bad for someone with so little experience: you should try it sometimes. If you're done with your food, let's organize our Arrangement. For my report…"

They discussed their work for a couple of hours, drinking coffee. Aziraphale tasted it too (a lot sweeter than the demon) but in the end he still preferred his tea. The angel, however, decided he'd propose another place with coffee, since Crowley enjoyed that drink so much.

Milan, Four years later

"Why can't I have a cup of coffee?" Sulked a very crossed demon who was missing a couple of years of sleep due hellish work. "Lent was over 2 month ago, wasn't it?"

The owner of the shop was distraught: "The priest told us that is not proper now, Sir: the Infidels are using it and - he started whispering - it seems that's a Devil's plant". 

"I'm pretty sure that the Devil wasn't involved in any botanical project, even before Falling, and he has never tried any coffee. Instead, if you are speaking about demons, I am the onl-"

"Why don't we order wine instead this time?" Interrupted quickly Aziraphale before Crowley could say something more compromising. The unhappy demon agreed begrudgingly so several bottles of red wine were shared among them. 

"I'm sorry for your coffee, Crowley. It seems idiotic banning a plant just because somebody else has it".

"Well, they copied the idea from the Boss: God was the first to ban a plant, you and I should remember that easily" Crowley snickered.

Aziraphale started blushing and his cheeks soon were as red as that famous fruit: "ah, it… i-it wasn't just a normal fruit and that was part of God's plan…  I suppose.". That phrase was just commented by the demon with a bemused expression.

"So, Crowley, what are you going to do with this? Are you going to tempt a lot of people to drink coffee?"

"Nah, I'm already too busy with Hell's job at the moment. It would be too troublesome to convince people and especially priests: those at top are the worst."

I'm sure I'll miss the ability of coffee to transform random thoughts into ingenious ideas: humans were experts at using that!" The demon slouched sadly on the chair.

Aziraphale would have missed the improved human genius too but, in his opinion, would have regretted more not seeing his demon's smile but he said nothing. He instead started thinking if there was something he could do and soon became lost in his thoughts.

"...anything there?"

"Sorry, what was that?" 

"I told you I'll go back to Spain tomorrow for a temptation: do you need anything there?" 

"Oh, nothing special, just the usual [3] we can share and those books, if you could be so courteous." Aziraphale happily answered, giving him a neat written list.

"Are you going to stay here long, angel?"

"Oh, no, I'm departing for Rome the day after tomorrow… … I know you don't like it because of the absurd amount of consecrated ground there, you don't need to make a face each time I mention it"

"And every pope makes the problem worse." 

The angel assumed a grim expression: "I have to meet pope Clement VIII for the closing ceremony of the Jubilee"

"You don't seems pleased" 

"The Archangels, especially Sandalphon, think highly of him, but I don't… appreciate him, especially after he burned at the stake messer Giordano Bruno and other poor humans."

Crowley liked discussing the stars and the universe with Giordano: he tried to warn the poor man but he was too stubborn to listen.

"May I reciprocate your favour from Spain? Maybe some wine?" Suggested the angel.

"Only if you're sure the bottles are not blessed - Crowley shuddered - I still remember last time I was wrong".

"Are you sure it will be enough?" 

"I'm sure, angel. Let's party now and forget our troubles for now". 

Unfortunately Aziraphale couldn't party happily because he couldn't forget what happened with the cup of coffee and he thought his favour was too small: he decided he should do something about it! 

Luckily the following morning was more propitious and he found a way to repay Crowly for his favour: he'll find a way to lift the ban on coffee.

The only remaining problem was how to do that.

Rome, a week later

Aziraphale was reading the same line of the missive for the third time in a row at his desk: the angel was too distracted because hadn't found a solution for his "problem" yet. 

"I bet I have the solution under my nose but I can't see it" mumbled the angel touching the pope's sigils on the papers.

"Of course, the pope! - he yelled happily - He is the highest authority for the priests: he could convince everybody that drinking coffee is not bad if he tastes it himself".

"I just need to learn how to make the best coffee ever". A name came back to his mind, the name Crowley gave him: Altan. 

Immediately he used a little miracle to locate him that led him to a small cemetery outside the city and on the grave and there were few sweets with a little cup: unfortunately Altan died 10 years before. The angel bowed a little to pay respect. 

A big Turkish man came next to him and inquired "Did you know my father?".

"I didn't but my... acquaintance considered him a genius and was very fond of his qahwa, ehm, kahve. He'll be sad when he'll know he died." 

"I'm Osmanek. May I ask you what brings you here mister...?

"Oh, I'm Aziraphale. I came here to learn how to make the best coffee ever: I hope his art was inherited by you."

"Luckily it was not lost: I loved to help him make coffee. Before revealing my secrets I have a question for you: are you doing this for your… acquaintance?"

Aziraphale nodded: "I'd like to prepare him some coffee he loves, but at the same time I'd love to see everyone have a coffee whenever they fancy, like in your birthplace. To make that possible, however, I have to let somebody else drink your coffee to.. ..to tempt him saying it's not a bad thing: that person is the pope Clement".

The angel knew what he was asking for and couldn't hold the gaze of the man anymore.

"I understand -he continued sadly- if you don't want to help me since I have seen how much that man has been hurting your brothers and sisters…" The angel couldn't say anything else, overpowered by his memories and bowed his head to hide the tears in his eyes: he has seen too many inconceivable deaths in the name of faith

Osmanek observed Aziraphale for a little moment: he was sure there was no lie in his words. "No, - he smiled - I can't leave you after you poured your heart out: I'll help you and your friend to tempt the Pope." 

"Oh, oh, thank you! - and the angel added hastily - But he's not my friend, we barely know each other!"

The man started smiling brighter than ever and guided him to his house.

Immediately after they arrived, Osmanek offered his guest a cup of his special kahve with few sweets. Aziraphale tried just a sip of coffee and he was immediately in love: "Now I know why Crowley likes it so much: it's so scrumptious even without those sweets!"

"I call this Altan kahve in honour of my father: I will teach you how to prepare it for your fr… aquietance but I ask you to not give any of this to the pope. For him, I'll give you another tasty recipe" 

"Oh, I agree with you: the pope doesn't deserve that perfection!" 

Osmanek patiently taught Aziraphale everything he should know: how to roast and grind the beans, how to use the small pot "cezve", the ratio perfect between coffee and water, how to boil and froth the concoction and  which flavours could be used.

In the beginning everything felt so difficult for Aziraphale and he failed a lot. However the angel was very stubborn and, thanks Osmanek's tips and teaching, he was able to make an excellent cup of coffee in a couple of days.

"I hope this will be good enough" mumbled the angel.

"Trust me, it will be too good for the pope", he chuckled. "Now let's see how good you are with Altan's coffee. I'll give you a final tip: imagine you are preparing some coffee for your acquaintance and not me".

"Why…?"

"If I'm right, it will taste better"

Still perplexed and a bit nervous, Aziraphale went into the kitchen and, following the last advice, he prepared meticulously the dark drink, flavouring with cardamom and finally pouring it in two kahve fincanı, a dark one and a light one. The smell seemed quite promising.

Osmanek took the darkest cup and, after smelling the aroma, he tasted it. After a few seconds, he smiled "In my native Country there is a proverb that says the coffee should be black as hell, strong as death, and sweet as love but for your coffee this doesn't sound right". He put the empty fincanı on the table.

"I think - he continued - the Italian expression suit it better" 

"I'm sorry but I don't know it" the angel was starting to worry he messed up something even if the man was smiling fondly.

"Il caffè deve essere caldo come l'inferno, nero come il diavolo, puro come un angelo e dolce come l'amore.". [4]

The angel took his courage and drank his coffee: in his opinion, it wasn't perfect as Osmanek's but it tasted like something Crowley would enjoy and that was the best feeling ever. 

The angel couldn't stop smiling: "Oh, I am so grateful to you! But I don't know how I can repay you for this"

"Your happiness is enough: I'll bring you everything you need".

Aziraphale didn't agree with him so he performed some miracles and blessings. 

Osmanek came back with some coffee beans, flavours and utensils. There were also three kahve fincanı: two were familiar (the dark and the light ones) but the other was new (and very flashy).

"Oh, that's for the pope: I have always hated that cup and I hope it'll break when that man wants coffee most"

"Oh, that cup will do that, I can assure you" the angel promised with a mischief smile.

Aziraphale finally bid farewell, still thanking Osmanek profusely.

Two months later was the time to put the plan in action: the pope was in the library at 2 a.m. and he was getting tired but he had a lot of work to do. Aziraphale approached him: "I may have the right solution for your Excellency: it's a healthy concoction that promotes wakefulness and wonderful ideas. It was discovered b-"

"I don't care, - interrupted the holy man - give me that drink and let's hope it works".

"God gives me strength" whispered under his breath the angel while preparing some coffee that suited the pope's taste.

When the cup of coffee was ready, it was given to Clement VIII: he grabbed it and started drinking absent-mindedly. The smell and the taste were so good that he woke almost immediately. 

"Librarian, what is this?"

"As I was saying, this is coffee" 

"Why has nobody given me this miraculous drink? The taste is divine and it works perfectly!"

"I suppose nobody wanted to offer your Excellency any drink consumed by Muslims. Some people also believe coffee is a Devil's plant. In my op-"

"I don't care: it's too good to be Satan's plant and we mustn't let the infidels have exclusive use of coffee."

Aziraphale was quite happy: it seemed his plan worked out nicely.

"Maybe we could bless the beans or use some holy wate-"

"NO" shouted the angel, emanating some angelic power unconsciously "Please, DON'T". 

For the first time in his life, the pope was scared he felt like a little child in front of a giant warrior.

"Ehm, please - said more calmly Aziraphale - never suggest it again or let somebody do that. Just tell everyone coffee could be drank by anybody".

The pope could only nod affirmatively.

"Right!" 

Now the angel was sure he was successful in his endeavour and soon could have a coffee with Crowley. 

Aziraphale stayed in Rome for another three weeks, just in time to witness a fincanı to break neatly in two, pouring coffee on some important papal documents.

On his journey to London he stopped to Osmanek's house and updated him on what had happened in that time (especially the broken cup).

London, Monday, 10th May 2021, 30 minutes after Aziraphale's call.

In the end Aziraphale made some of his special coffee with his cezve: he was missing Crowley so much.

"What if i woke him up while he just wanted to sleep a bit more?" 

"No, angel, - a familiar voice answered - I want to stay awake with you for a while"

"Crowley" cheered Aziraphale

"Coffee?"

"In a jiffy" and he poured the drink in two old contrasting kahve fincanı.

"So, what's the secret behind this old recipe?" Crowley asked with a mischievous smile.

----------------------Notes----------------------

[1] Siór = mister (venetian dialect)

[2] Malta = Crowley had been at the great siege of Malta in 1565    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Siege_of_Malta

[3] Usual = local goodies (especially wine and alcohol)

[4] "Il caffè deve essere caldo come l'inferno, nero come il diavolo, puro come un angelo e dolce come l'amore" = "coffee must be hot as hell, black as the devil, pure as an angel and sweet as love"

To write this I took some info from wikipedia about the history of coffee: if you want to learn something more accurate than my story, look here and here.

[cordonian-literature]

The Aftermath - Ch. 3

More Visitors

Summary: The Beaumonts find out about Riley’s condition

A/N: I know the last chapter was Liam and Drake, but their first encounter with Riley is actually here, in the preview. Check it out if you haven’t yet!

Word Count: ~3.4k

Warning: Mention of character death

*All characters belong to Pixelberry, except those that are unique to my story (I’ve also used some characters and fictional instances from Donna Tartt’s “The Goldfinch”)*

Catch up here!

Tags: @captain-kingliamsqueen @marshmallowsaremyfavorite @gkittylove99 @lovablegranny @loudbluebirdlover @mom2000aggie @kingliam2019 @queenrileyrose @shanzay44 @cordonianroyalty​ @hopefulmoonobject​ @hopelessromanticmonie @cinnamonspongecake

- Maxwell - 

“If it be true that thee shall not cease insulting mine own family nameth, then I dare thee to a battleth!”

“A hurlyburly thee sayeth? Well, then I'll seeth thee on the dueling ground!”

“Ah, but this isn't a normal battleth, because I dare thee to a breakdance hurlyburly!” 

“But I knoweth not how to doth the breaketh danceth!”

“Thou art a blinking idiot, and were bound to loseth!” 

“Uncle Max, why do I always have to play the character that loses?” Bartie tosses his copy of the script on the coffee table. 

“Because I’m the one with the killer dance moves!” Maxwell strikes a pose. “You only get to where I am after a lifetime of practice, muffin, and you’ve still got a long way to go.”

“But can’t you lose to me at least once?” Bartie picks up the booklet and starts flipping through the pages. “Like how you pretended to lose to Count Appleton in a rap battle, but then won against him in another rap battle in the next scene!”

“That was to catch him off-guard! I gained his trust and then his respect,” Maxwell argues

“Don’t you want my character’s trust and respect?”

“Your character keeps insulting my character’s family name!” Maxwell cries.

“Whatever.” He throws the booklet back down. “I’m going go to my room for a little while.” 

“Wanna run through your fork placement again?” 

“No, I’m okay. I’ve got it down. Thank you, though.” Bartie heads up the stairs towards his room.

“I’ll see you at dinner, muffin,” Maxwell calls. He plops onto the couch and begins to reread his script as Savannah walks into the room. 

“So how was rehearsal?” she questions. “Did you get a chance to teach Bartie that move you were talking about?”

He shakes his head. “No, we didn’t get to it. Don’t think the little muffin is interested in breakdancing, so I won’t bother him anymore.” 

Savannah doesn’t say anything. Maxwell had started working on his breakdance opera years ago after he tried to finish his novel but then gave up on it, claiming the topic was too depressing. He tried his best to get Bartie interested in his opera, even though Bertrand said it wasn’t appropriate for a boy of his status to be learning how to breakdance instead of perfecting the Cordonian Waltz. In the beginning, Bartie was thrilled that he got to spend more time with his Uncle Maxwell, but as time went on the boy became bored and started to look more towards Uncle Drake for some fun — which Bertrand thought was even more inappropriate (”My boy should be learning how to properly host the royal family, not learning how cut wood or put up a tent!”), though he allowed it after Savannah insisted — and so Maxwell felt increasingly alone at Ramsford.

He could spend some time with Liam and Drake in the capital, but both men were so closed off lately that the air around them would become stifling. He wanted to plan a trip to Shanghai so the Beaumonts could visit Hana, but Bertrand was always so caught up with maintaining the estate — and he never let Maxwell help him — that a moment to relax as a family was uncommon. 

At dinner, Bartie half-heartedly explained to his father how his lessons had gone. Bertrand asked Bartie if he wanted to do some work with him tonight, just to get a feel of what it was like to run the estate, but Bartie simply shrugged and walked off without finishing his dinner. 

Bertrand was about to go after him and demand Bartie to return to his seat, but Savannah put a hand on his shoulder and told her husband to let the boy go. 

“He’s not feeling too well lately,” she reasoned. “Let him go. If he wants to talk to us he will.” 

“There is no reason for him to be behaving in such a manner. I will remind him tomorrow morning, and I will make sure he sits with me... he needs to learn how to run the house sooner or later, and the former would be most preferable.” Bertrand took a sip of his wine. 

Even though House Beaumont’s finances had improved tremendously over time, Bertrand was still obsessed with keeping everything in order, almost desperate to make sure there was no chance of any sort of decline happening again. He wouldn’t hear anyone who tried to tell him that he should take a break or loosen up a little.

“Go easy on him,” Maxwell suggests. “He’s been working really hard on his lessons and barely gets any time to go outside.”

“He needs to spend his time learning all he can so he can be a reputable duke when the time comes!”

“Bertrand, please,” Savannah says. “He’s just having a couple bad days. It’s normal.” 

Bertrand sighs. “I don’t understand why he feels this way. Just last week he was fine. What happened now?”

“He went to Drake’s this weekend, so maybe he misses him,” Savannah speculates. 

“I’ll call him up later,” Maxwell declares. “It’s been a while since I’ve talked to my old pal. I kinda miss him, too.”

The three finish their meal in quiet, but Maxwell sits impatiently for the moment he could jump up and go call Drake. 

After their plates were taken away, Maxwell said his good nights to Savannah and Bertrand and raced up the stairs towards Bartie’s room.

He knocks on the door and waits for Bartie to unlock it. “Yes?” Bartie says. 

“I thought we could give Uncle Drake a call! It’s been a couple days since you’ve seen him and it’s been a while since I’ve talked to him.”

“It’s barely been two days,” Bartie scoffs. “But alright, I guess.”

Bartie goes to sit next to Maxwell on the edge of the bed and leans in while they wait for Drake to answer the FaceTime call. 

He declines the call. Maxwell calls again, Drake declines again.

“Maybe he’s busy?” Bartie wonders aloud.

“It’s more likely that he just doesn’t want me bothering him.” Maxwell’s phone vibrates. “He texted me!”

On flight. Will call in morning.

“He’s traveling? Where? Do you think His Majesty sent him away again?” Bartie asks.

“I don’t really know. Hopefully he’ll keep his promise and call back in the morning. Until then there’s not much we can do.” Maxwell sighs and stands up, ruffling Bartie’s hair. “Good night, muffin. Sleep well.”

In his room, Maxwell lays in bed thinking of all the places Drake could be going. Olivia was the one who led independent investigations and never told anything to anyone else until she was sure of what she had, so it was unlikely Drake had gone to find something upon her suggestion. Maxwell had tried to reach out to Riley through social media, but soon after he contacted her, she’d deleted all of her accounts, blocked his number, and blocked his email — then when they tried to trace her number through Olivia’s phone, they reached a dead end. 

Drake on the other hand, did work together with Maxwell and Olivia, but also with the division of the King’s Guard that Liam had made to search for Riley. Their king was constantly sending out people to thoroughly examine every place that yielded even the smallest hint of a lead. Rarely was anything found, and when it was, it was either useless or highly questionable.

Recently, they were having difficulty finding new leads — they had already checked so many places around the world that it was hard to think of any place they may have disregarded. That was when Liam and Drake started distancing themselves even further. Maxwell knew they usually spent time together near the end of the week, but when Drake suggested Bartie visit over the weekend, Maxwell knew that both men had started losing hope.

The next morning during another quiet meal, Maxwell noticed Savannah stealing glances at her son.

“Did Uncle Drake call you back yet?” Bartie directed his question towards Maxwell.

“No,” Maxwell said, his mouth stuffed with blueberries and waffles. “I’ll check in on him in a few.” 

Bertrand continued the conversation by telling everyone what he planned to do for the rest of the day. Maxwell could tell that he was trying to get Bartie to want to work with him. He was glad Bertrand wasn’t pushing Bartie too much, and was sure that Savannah had probably talked to him about it last night.

After breakfast, Maxwell gave Drake a call, but it went straight to voicemail. Maxwell left a message asking Drake to get back to him. 

In an attempt to get Bartie out of the house before his tutor showed up, Maxwell went to his door and tried to persuade his nephew to go on a jog with him.

“Maybe later,” Bartie called out from inside his room. “I’m a little tired right now.”

Some time after noon, Drake still hadn’t called back. Finishing his lunch, Maxwell decides to give Drake a call to make sure everything was alright.

The phone rings for so long Maxwell thinks Drake isn’t going to answer, but then hears his voice from the other side: “Hey, Maxwell.”

“Drake!” Maxwell shouts. “What’s happening? You said you’d call this morning but then you didn’t.”

“Sorry about that,” Drake’s voice doesn’t seem directed at Maxwell, who can tell that he’s distracted. “Got caught up.” There’s people talking in the background, but Maxwell can’t tell who it is or what they’re saying.

“So where did you fly off to?” he asks. 

Drake doesn’t answer. The people in the background keep talking. After a few seconds, Drake’s voice is more purposeful when he says to Maxwell, “Listen. Liam and I are in New York. We’re with Riley.”

The rest of Drake’s monologue cuts out as her name echoes through Maxwell’s mind. 

Riley? Our Riley? They found little blossom? How long has it been? Ten years? Almost eleven? Feels like a hundred.

Are they there to bring her back? Does she even want to come back? Would she want to see me, the person who set in motion the series of events that led to her name being dragged through the mud, to her disappearance, to heartbreak?

“New York?” Maxwell finally brings himself to speak through the lump in his throat. “Little blossom’s in New York? When did you find out?”

“Like I said, we found out just last night.” Maxwell didn’t want to mention that he wasn't listening when Drake had said that. 

“Is... is she alright? Have you talked to her? What did she say?”

“Pay attention, Maxwell,” Drake scolds through his teeth.

“I was paying attention! But if you would be so kind as to repeat what you said....”

“She was visiting a museum and there was a bomb. She’s in New York Presbyterian, and we’re here, too. She got a serious head injury and had surgery on Sunday. Her legs are pretty beat up, but the doctor says some rest will help her get back on her feet within a few weeks.”

“Where is she?” Maxwell yells. “Are you with her?”

Drake sighs. “No, not at the moment. The doctor and a nurse checked her and said they wanted to take her for another CT scan to see if there was anything they might have overlooked.”

“So you... you didn’t speak to her at all?”

“I didn’t, no, but Liam did before they took her away. He won’t tell me what she said.”

“So she is talking, right? She’s alright, technically? Nothing permanent?”

“I don’t know, Maxwell. I’ll let you know what happens when they bring her back.”

“Let me talk to her. I want to see my little blossom,” Maxwell requests. Drake says something, but his voice is far away. He’s talking to someone else, and doesn’t bring the phone back to his ear. “Drake? Hello?”

The line disconnects. Maxwell stands there, shocked. His feet were rooted in place as he stares down at his phone. 

Did they really find Riley? If they did, could they convince her to return?

I was the one who convinced her to come to Cordonia in the first place. I should be there helping bring her back.

“BERTRAND!” Maxwell shrieks, running out the room towards the study.

“What happened?” Savannah screams as Maxwell flies past her. 

“BERTRAND!” he calls again, announcing his arrival.

When he opens the door to the study, Bertrand is on the phone, staring at Maxwell with a grim face. “My apologies, sir, but I will have to call you back,” he says to the person on the other end, hanging up. He stands. “What on Earth was that Maxwell? I’m on an important phone call and you come dashing in, screeching my name like a banshee! Do you understand how incompetent that looks?”

Maxwell knows he’s about to be at the receiving end of another one of Bertrand’s never-ending lectures, but he doesn’t care. He’s jittery and out of breath, but in between pants manages to say, “Liam and Drake found Riley. They’re with her right now. We have to go.”

Stunned, Bertrand takes a step back. “Riley?! Uh, er... Lady Riley?” He clears his throat, composing himself, but can’t get the words out. “They’ve... they’ve.... Where is she? His Majesty is with her?”

“In New York. Yes, he's there with Drake.” 

Bertrand blinks. He finally manages a solemn voice and asks, “She is well, I hope?”

Maxwell shakes his head. Moments pass, with Bertrand deep in thought. Maxwell worries about what his brother will say next.

“Everything alright in here?” Savannah walks in. “Saw Maxwell run past and wanted to make sure that nothing was wrong.” 

“His Majesty and Drake have found Lady Riley.” Bertrand’s voice is more prominent now.

“What?” Savannah brings a hand over her mouth.

Confidently, he declares, “Maxwell and I will be joining them in New York as soon as possible. I am sorry to leave you and Bartie, my dear,” he sighs, “but we must go. She is still House Beaumont, after all.”

After a moment, Savannah says, “We’ll come with you. I want to see her, too, and I know Bartie would enjoy the trip.” 

Bertrand’s mind is already racing, and he doesn’t have the heart to tell his wife that he wants her to stay here. She seemed certain of herself, and so he would not dissuade her. “Alright then,” he replies.

“Aw yeah!” Maxwell cries. “Family vacation!” 

“Yes, yes, now go pack,” Bertrand commands. “I’ll prepare a flight for us. We must go quickly. Time is of the essence.”

... 

On the flight, Maxwell and Bertrand anxiously look out of their windows. Savannah talks to Bartie about the appeals of New York — after him and his mother had come back from Paris, the family had never taken Bartie out of Cordonia, and since Bertrand was persistent in having Bartie receive his education at the hands of tutors, the boy was never given the time to travel with his family, nor did he have any friends who could either relate to him or tell him tales of their travels.

Eventually, Bartie gets tired and takes a nap. Maxwell feels tired as well, but the excitement to see Riley again doesn’t stop sending jolts through his body. They were so close to her. So close to having her with them, and having everything be the way it should have been from the beginning.

Hours later, he wakes up Bartie and tells him that they’ve landed.

Once they’re out of the airport, Bertrand manages to tag down a driver. They drop off Savannah and Bartie at the hotel where they got a last minute reservation. When Maxwell and Bertrand are outside the hospital, Maxwell jumps out of the car and races inside. 

“Maxwell!” Bertrand calls in a stiff whisper. Maxwell slows down and matches Bertrand’s pace. They walk up to the receptionist, who’s having a discussion with a doctor. They wait for her to notice them, and after a few moments Maxwell debates running off to try and find Riley’s room himself, but Bertrand clears his throat and asks, “Excuse me, could either one of you direct me towards Miss Riley Brooks? She’s a patient here, I believe.”

The doctor looks up. “Are one of you her designated support person?”

“No, not exactly—.”

“We’re family.” Maxwell chimes in. “We just heard what happened and flew in from Europe.”

“Visiting hours are over,” the doctor says. “You fellas can come back at nine in the morning. ‘Til then I can’t help you.” 

“You will tell me where she is or you will face the wrath of House Beaumont’s lawyers!” Bertrand shouts.

“Beaumont? That your last name?” the doctor interrogates.

“Yes and—.”

“The lady’s last name is Brooks. Clearly, you guys aren’t family. I’m gonna need you two to leave. Unless you want me to get security?”

Bertrand looks at the doctor, fuming, ready to give him the worst tongue lashing the man has ever experienced, but someone grips his and Maxwell’s shoulders. 

“They’re with me, Doc,” Drake says. “I’ll take them to Miss Brooks and there’ll be no more trouble. Sorry for the inconvenience.” 

Drake leads the two of them away from reception and towards the ICU. 

“Drake!” Maxwell exclaims, putting an arm around his friend’s shoulder. “Thanks for that. We really needed it.” 

“Yes,” Bertrand adds. “It was much appreciated. Now, where is Lady Riley?”

“Did they find everything alright after the CT scan?” Maxwell asks. 

Drake sighs. “Riley’s asleep right now. Today must have been stressful for her, I imagine. You guys can talk to her in the morning.” 

Maxwell is about to repeat his question when he notices Liam sitting in the ICU waiting room, looking at the floor. “Liam!” he calls. 

When Liam looks up, Maxwell looks in shock at his red, swollen eyes. 

“What happened?” Maxwell breathes. The air in his lungs is suddenly painful.

“She—,” he looks back down and speaks slowly, as if every word sent a stab to his chest. “She didn’t remember me. She looked me right in the eye and asked me who I was.” His voice cracks, and he puts his head in his hands.

Maxwell takes a seat next to Liam, but says nothing. Bertrand stands in shock, staring at his king breaking down. Brows furrowed in confusion, he looks at Drake. “What does that mean?”

“She lost her memory.” Drake answered in a quiet voice. Every word seemed to break him. “The doctors didn’t tell us everything, but they told us that they doubted she even knew who she was. After they brought her from the CT scan and explained everything to her, she started crying. Her mother was there, too. She’s actually a nurse here. They’ve decided to question her tomorrow, to try and figure out what she remembers and doesn’t remember. Some detectives are also coming in to question a couple victims. They’re hoping to find some information, or at least something that’ll help them connect some dots.”

“Little blossom doesn’t know who we are?” Maxwell asks, as his shoulders begin to shake. 

Bertrand manages to maintain his composure, though his voice cracks a couple times when he says, “Well. There’s nothing... there’s um... nothing we can do at the moment.” He clears his throat. “Have you two been able to acquire any accommodations?”

Liam sits up, his face wet. “Yes.” He sniffles. “Though we haven’t actually been to the hotel yet. We’ve been here for... oh, a little less than ten hours.”

“Your Majesty I believe it would be wise to spend the night at the hotel and rest. Tomorrow’s going to be a long day. Perhaps the doctors will let us ask questions as well.”

"Thank you, Duke Bertrand, but I would rather stay. Drake, if you want, you can go and get some sleep. I'm sure you need it. I'll be fine right here."

Drake, Maxwell, and Bertrand share a silent look, then take a seat near their friend. Bertrand sends Savannah a text, telling her that him and Maxwell will not be returning to the hotel tonight.

[your-worst-knightmare]

Operation Get Out of Marriage

Jaytemis Week Day 3: Arranged Marriage

Ao3 Link

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Night had settled upon the gardens of Wayne Manor, blanketing the sky in her quiet embrace. Jason stood and watched form his balcony, his mind still racing from his father’s dumbfounding speech. The serene bubbling of the fountains should have quelled his anxiety as he’d hoped, but it seemed to do nary a thing.

The head of Wayne Manor had called Jason into his study to talk. That was bad news in itself, as dear old dad wasn’t known for setting aside time for friendly conversation with his sons. Deep down, Jason had always known that conversation was bound to happen in some way or another. Still, it didn’t make the news seem any less like a blow to the face.

Bruce’s words still rang clearly in his ears. “I have made an alliance with Themyscira and we have decided that a union is in order to strengthen our bond. You will be meeting your betrothed tomorrow. I expect you to do your part.”

Jason was left to stare at Bruce, gaping like a fish. Betrothed? To a woman he’d never met, from a nation whose culture he knew next to nothing about, without either his or his betrothed’s consent. An alliance with Themyscira was certainly nothing to sneeze at, and Bruce always had been politically inclined, but would he do this to Jason? To his own son? Several seconds passed in silence and Jason knew the answer was yes.

He huffed in annoyance. Bruce was a jerk. A powerful, wealthy, influential jerk at that. Marrying your son off at nineteen to solidify your own political career only proved that further. Jason tried, tried so hard to be the perfect son, but all Bruce saw him as was a tool. Jason’s gaze hardened. To hell with Bruce. To hell with his political career. If Bruce wasn’t going to love him as a father should, then Jason wasn’t going to exhaust himself trying to earn his affections.

A wonderful idea sprung up in Jason’s mind. What if he just left? Abandoned this mess to live on a livelihood of his own making. The idea sounded appetizing. But what about his bride-to-be? She was likely in a very similar situation. He thought for a moment. No, he didn’t have time to worry about coercing this faceless woman into abandoning a life of luxury with him. There was too much risk. He could live with his disappearance being a one-man show.

Jason retired to his chambers a little too smugly. He’d play the part of the perfect son for the next few days before requesting to take his betrothed on a private outing. Then, under the cover of night, he could sneak out and vanish, free to live the life he wished. Jason smiled. It was all coming together beautifully. He’d need to begin preparing as soon as possible.

_____________________________

“I do not require your help,” Artemis snapped, swatting away the pilot’s hand that had been so generously offered to her. As constricting as the dress she wore was, she could manage herself. The fashion of Man’s World was ridiculous, but Diana had insisted that she get used to the style, seeing as she was marrying the son of the most influential man in Gotham. How insufferable.

Her betrothed– Jason– had greeted her at the runway. Artemis resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Loverboy had to come to see her as soon as she got off the plane. Outwardly, she attributed her foul mood to her intolerable dress and the fatigue of travel. However, perhaps since she’d been miserable since the news of her marriage was broken to her, she had been lying to herself. She knew for a fact that she did not want to be married, but she’d promised herself that she was not to do anything rash. So, as her betrothed talked up a storm of saying nothing, she set to work devising a plan.

Jason was polite as far as suitors went, but Artemis didn’t particularly care for his mask of grandeur that he hid behind. All of his words seemed rehearsed, all his questioned practiced.

“Your dress looks very beautiful, your Highness. Good craftsmanship is so hard to come by nowadays.”

It took all of Artemis’ will to not bite out a snarky ‘Thanks, I hate it.’ “Why thank you, Jason. Of course, I would settle for nothing less.” If he was going to play a game of propriety, Artemis was going to beat him at it.

He nodded politely. “Well, I was thinking that we should get to know each other better. My father owns a vacation home off the coast and I hoped we might spend a few days there.” His mask broke– if only for a second, a look of nervousness flashing over his face before disappearing.

It surprised her, as brief as it was. Artemis sensed that not everything was as it seemed with her betrothed. She covered her thoughts with a smile. “ That does sound like a good idea. Tell me, when do you plan to depart?”

“In three days’ time, if you don’t mind the short notice.” He smiled at her again, and Artemis couldn’t believe how fake it was. He may as well draw one on his face for a chance at being more genuine.

“Oh no, I don’t mind at all.” An idea began to flower in her mind, one that would further both her and Diana’s agendas. She would let the union take place and then her husband would fall ill under mysterious circumstances. To keep the alliance, she would remain “faithful” and wheedle her way back to Themyscira where she could live like none of this ever happened. It was nothing personal. This private outing presented a perfect opportunity to gather intelligence for her plan. “You will find I can be quite spontaneous.”

______________________

Jason had one goal: to make it through the night. The simple task seemed to become increasingly difficult as he realized that Artemis would stand no amount of small talk any longer. His scripted responses from the day they met simply wouldn’t work here. It didn’t help that he kept tripping over his words either.  Now he didn’t just look like a rich jerk, but an idiot rich jerk. Great.

“Do you want to get some ice cream? I heard that Princess Diana likes it and I thought... well, I’m not saying I think you’re all the same but–”

Artemis held a finger up for silence. “It’s fine. I am going to pretend I didn’t hear any of your rambling, but yes, I would like ice cream.” The Amazon shrugged. “Besides, I should get used to your food seeing as I am to be your wife and all,” she deadpanned.

Jason felt a blush creeping up his neck. “Uh, yeah..., sure. “ God, why was he such an idiot? Maybe if he started a coherent conversation, this would all go away. He followed Artemis as she walked, trying to think of something to say. “So, uh, can I ask you a question?”

Artemis continued walking. “You may.”

“Did you have any say in this union? Between us I mean.”

She paused. “No. I was training in Bhana-Mighdall until I was whisked away to Man’s World one day without notice. Sometimes I wake up and forget I’m not in Themyscira anymore,” Artemis whispered, her tone full of longing. She turned to him. “What about you? Regale me with the tale of how you scored yourself a wife at nineteen without trying.”

Jason rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, I was in a very similar situation as you. I didn’t know anything until a day before I met you. I didn’t want to marry you.” God, that came out wrong. “Uh, I mean, you’re really nice and beautiful and all, but I just don’t think I’m ready,” he quickly amended.

Artemis smirked. That was a win, right? She placed on hand on his shoulder and Jason froze. “That was very cute, Jason. Truthfully, I find myself agreeing with you. But, we’re doing this for our families, and as mindless as they are, they’re the only ones we’ve got.

And I supposed that since we will be seeing each other more often, it seems fit that I make this request of you.”

“And that is?”

“Don’t hide behind your mask of propriety, I must say, I find this you, awkward as you may be, much more endearing.” She patted his arm, walking ahead. “Now come on, we can’t leave our ice cream waiting.”

A smile tugged on Jason’s mouth. Her honesty was certainly refreshing. He had to admit, he would be at least a little sorry to leave her without any notice. She was nice and she really did deserve better. But, a plan was a plan, and he wouldn’t crumble over one conversation.

_________________________

Artemis lay in bed, wide awake and reminiscing the night she had just spent with her betrothed. He was certainly much nicer than she’d originally thought, though she didn’t care to admit it. She didn’t exactly have any plans to get attached anyway. The union would happen soon, she was sure, and she wouldn’t have to wait long to carry out her plan.

Her gut twinged at the thought. The plan. It wasn’t as drastic as anyone dying, but she would still feel guilty nonetheless. Jason didn’t do anything to deserve it. He was just as much of a pawn as she was. Was that... sympathy? Artemis didn’t exactly know. She decided to leave the thought. Jason was nice, that was that, and she would think about how she felt later.

A paper rustled as it slid under her door. Most likely from Jason. She had half a mind to leave it, as she didn’t want to encourage any of his advances if she was going to follow through with her plan. It was better if he thought her indifferent. False hope was a very cruel thing.

After half an hour, her will crumbled and curiosity got the better of her. Artemis figured that there was no harm in simply reading his note. She picked up the note gingerly.

Or rather a letter would be a more appropriate term. It was handwritten, if hastily, but Artemis appreciated the time taken to do so. However, as she read, her chest swirled with a disorienting array of emotions. It began simply:

‘Artemis, When I was told that I was to be married off to some princess, I expected to meet an immature, snobbish girl. Instead, I met you; an intelligent, elegant, calculating woman who happily proved all my expectations false. I have greatly enjoyed your company over the small amount of time that we’ve been together, and that has somewhat compelled me to write this. I feel that I am obligated to because I would personally feel guilty leaving you without the full story. I find myself partially grateful to my father for introducing us, but I do not think I can live under his will any longer. I am leaving to live my own life, under my own rules. I hope this also gives you the opportunity to return to Themyscira to continue your studies and training. Although I am leaving this life behind, I do not want to abandon contact with you. You will find a burner phone in my room with my number if you wish to stay in touch. -J’

Artemis threw down the letter, dazed. So he’d gotten to his escape plan first. It was quite idiotic, and would most likely never work, but at least it didn’t involve anyone falling ill.

But still. Stupid.

With a calmness that was unproportionate to the situation, Artemis made her way to Jason’s room and dialed. To her surprise, he actually picked up.

“You are such an idiot,” was the first thing that tumbled out of her mouth.

“You read my letter?” Jason asked quietly.

“Yes. It seems you got to your ‘Operation get Out of Marriage’ before I did.” She laughed. “I’m glad you did. Your plan was much better.”

“Oh. Can I ask what yours was?”

“It involved having an invalid for a husband. It would have never worked.”

“Why?”

I like you too much for that.”

Jason went silent for a moment. “If I carried through with my plan, what would happen to you?”

The Amazon sighed. “I suppose I’d be married off again to some other poor soul.”

“That’s not fair.”

“Tell me,” Artemis looked down at her fingers. “If we went through with your father’s plan, what would you do?”

“I don’t know. Be a pawn for the rest of my life?”

“Alright, and what would you do once you’ve carried out your own plan?”

Jason snorted.“Are you trying to make me admit that I haven’t thought this through?”

“Yes,” Artemis replied smugly.”I think I have an alternative plan that would work in all of our favours.”

__________________________

The wedding was extravagant. For all of his faults, Bruce certainly knew how to throw a party. Red and white flowers adorned the venue, most likely making the air hell for anyone with pollen allergies, Jason chuckled to himself. He didn’t know how he felt knowing that so much time and money went to waste on this opulent event. But what Jason lacked in interest for the event, the press more than made up for it.

They were everywhere, following every little detail A small part of Jason was glad for that. It would allow his and Artemis’ new and improved plan to run much more smoothly.

The event dragged on painfully slowly. There were speeches, private interviews, food, all before the ceremony actually took place. Jason felt like he would fall asleep if this went on any slower. But finally, the host said the magic words Jason had been waiting all day for.

‘And now, may I present the bride and the groom!”

Music blared and the gargantuan doors of the chapel swung open. There was nobody behind them. The host nervously repeated himself. Nobody. And again. Still, neither bride nor groom had appeared.

Before the host could get any more flustered, a young man ran out of the audience to deliver a note to him. He took a moment to calm his nerves before he began reading.

‘Dear Honoured Guests, By now you may be wondering where we, the bride and groom are. We are pleased to say that are safe and simply not attending out of our own free will. While we are delighted about the alliance between our peoples, we do not feel that we are suited to the lives of diplomats. As a result, we have decided to step back from our families’ political affairs. We do not wish for the alliance to be dissolved, however, we will no longer be associated with our inherited power. Thank you for attending and we wish you all a cordial evening. -Jason Wayne and Artemis Grace’

The venue erupted into chaos, with guests gasping at the scandal of it all and reporters trying to uncover more of the developing story.

Hundreds of miles away, Jason smirked from atop his comfortable lounge in his private penthouse. He turned away from the TV to face Artemis, who lay beside him on the couch. “So how do you think this plan turned out?”

It was rewarding to see her face lit up with that bright grin. She motioned to the screen where Bruce’s face was starting to rival the looks of a tomato. “I think this was our best yet.”

Jason switched off the TV. “I have a better one.”

“Oh. And that is?”

Fighting the grin off his face was a losing battle. “Ice cream.”

[bpro-cardstories]

Kento Aizome SSR

2020 ー Reunion [再会]

“As expected, she didn’t change. Does she plan to give me money and curry favour with me, or what?” 

『Event: Hotel ROYAL Classics (22th-29th January 2020)』

Part 1

 ーIn the perfume section of a store.ー

Hikaru: ‘Uhm, that’s~’

Hikaru: ‘Ooh, something berry-based! How about this one?’

Hikaru: ‘Fuaah~, such a mature scent…..! It kinda makes my heart beat faster!’

Kazuna: ‘Hikaru, if you sprinkle the perfume this much, you will bother the shop, you know?’

Hikaru: ‘Ah, I see! Sorry!’

Tsubasa: ‘Fufu, if there is a tester, you would want to try them out.’

Tsubasa: ‘Oh……. Since it is about time, shall we head to the studio?’

Kazuna: ‘Yes. Thanks for going shopping with us.’ 

Hikaru: ‘Tsubasa-chan, do you have other work after you see us off?’ 

Tsubasa: ‘Yes, there is KitaKore’s recording….. But before, I plan to have a meeting in the apartment building.’ 

Kazuna: ‘Is that so? If that’s the case, then we’re fine. It’s okay to go there. Like this, it will be faster.’ 

Tsubasa: ‘No, I cannot…..’ 

Hikaru: ���Nope, nope! Isn’t that a big detour!! There, off you go~!!’ 

Tsubasa: ‘Ah, H-Hikaru-kun…….!?’

Kazuna: ‘Take care, Sumisora-san. If you arrive there, make sure to contact us.’ 

Tsubasa: ‘I am sorry…… Then, I will accept your offer……!’

Hikaru: ‘See you~!!’ _________________

ーAt the apartment building.ー

Kento: ‘Tsubasa, welcome.’

Tsubasa: ‘Hello. I am sorry, it is earlier than planned….. I am not troubling you, am I?’ 

Kento: ‘It’s fine, Tsubasa is welcomed at midnight. Here, come in.’ 

Tsubasa: ‘Thank you.’ ______

Kento: ‘Here, put these on.’

Tsubasa: ‘Thank you. Ah, it is today’s meeting butーー’ 

Kento: ‘.......Wait.’

Tsubasa: ‘Eh?’

Kento: ‘That, what’s this scent?’

Tsubasa: ‘Scent…...?’

Kento: ‘Tsubasa, it’s different than your usual one.’

Tsubasa: ‘Ah……. maybe it is the perfume’s tester. I am sorry, is it a scent you dislike?’

Kento: ‘.......Not really, it’s not what I meant.’ 

Tsubasa: ‘......? Aizome-san…….?’

Yuta: ‘Ah, it’s Tsubasa-chan~! Hello!’

Goshi: ‘You two, what are you standing there for? Let’s get started.’ 

Kento: ‘Yes, yes, I know. Tsubasa, let’s go.’ 

Tsubasa: ‘Ah……Yes.’

Yuta: ‘The talk is about the drama with Kenken and Gochin that came out. It was about love, right?’ 

Tsubasa: ‘Yes, it is a love comedy set in a hotel in the UK. I am told that the main shooting will be done in a house in the outskirts. Because Aizome-san will be staying at the location for several days, I ask you to prepare for that.’  

Kento: ‘Understood.’ 

Tsubasa: ‘Kaneshiro-san and Momo-kun are expected to stay at the house of the location for only the first day, the rest of the days they are set to film in Tokyo.’ 

Goshi: ‘Okay.’ 

Kento: ‘It’s the best work to stay away from the members for a while.’ 

Goshi: ‘That’s my line. How about living there for a month?’ 

Kento: ‘Hee? Even if you say so, you won’t know when you’re feeling lonely and cry.’

Yuta: ‘Eh~! Poor Gochin!! If you cry, I will  comfort you instead, so don’t worry, okay!?’

Goshi: ‘Stop that crap, who’s gonna cry!’

Kento: ‘Ah….Right, Tsubasa. If the hotel where I’ll be staying is decided, tell me the details.’ 

Tsubasa: ‘Ehm, is the place and name fine?’ 

Kento: ‘Yes, please.’

Yuta: ‘Wait a sec!’

Yuta: ‘Kenken, aren’t you going to contact a nearby girl in advance!? That’s a no-go!!’

Tsubasa: ‘Eh.....Is that true?’

Kento: ‘I would never. Don’t worry, it’s just a friendly relation.’ 

Goshi: ‘If you say that, it’s not trustworthy.’ 

Yuta: ‘Tsubasa-chan, you absolutely can’t tell him!’ 

Tsubasa: ‘Y-Yes!’ 

Kento: ‘Wait…..Don’t just agree, Tsubasa.’ 

Part 2

ーDuring the filming of a scene.ー

Woman: ‘Kyaah.’ 

Kento: ‘.......Are you fine? Any injuries?’

Woman: ‘Y-Yes…..! Thank you very much.’

Hikaru: ‘You look tired, it’s better to rest for a bit. How about going back to your room with me?’

Kento: ‘That is inappropriate, owner. Please leave her to me.’ 

(ーーI’m glad. The filming is going very well.)

(Everyone seems to be able to concentrate because the site’s atmosphere is so good…… It looks like it will turn into a wonderful drama.) __________

��Late in the evening, when the filming is over.ー

Tsubasa: ‘Thank you for today.’

Hikaru: ‘Thanks! Finally finished!’

Kento: ‘Since it was a long day, I’m quite tired.’ 

Akane: ‘It sure was, I’m already sleepy…..’

Tsubasa: ‘Because we will enter the set at 5 am in the morning tomorrow, please go to bed quickly and rest well.’ 

Hikaru & Akane: ‘Yeーs.’

Kento: ‘Rest well, huh…… But I may not be able to sleep alone. If Tsubasa is at my side, it’s a different story thoughーー’ 

Akane: ‘Okay, let’s go, Kento~!’ 

Kento: ‘Wait…...What the, Akane.’

Akane: ‘I was asked by Yuta and Goshi. If Kento says something weird, I'll silence you.’ 

Kento: ‘What?’

Hikaru: ‘Ai-chan, if you’re lonely, then I’ll sleep with you~ ♪’

Instead of getting close with Tsubasa, he is met with Hikaru’s body. Kento is anything but amused about this uncomfortable situation.

Kento: ‘Stop, it’s hot!’ 

Tsubasa: ‘Ahaha……Go rest, everyone.’

Akane: ‘Goodnight~, Tsubasa-chan!’ 

Tsubasa: ‘......If they are this lively, tomorrow will be fine.’ 

Tsubasa: ‘Alright, I have to return to my room too since I have work to do.’ __________

ーAfter a while.ー

Tsubasa: ‘ーーYes, only for a bit because I just came down to the lobby…...Yes, thank you very much.’ 

(It’s difficult to hold a meeting, so dinner….. Since I wanted to check it, it’s the perfect timing. But, I still have work to do, so I need to return as fast as possibleーー)

Woman: ‘.........’

(Wow…..What a beautiful person. She looks like an actress….. And has a really nice scent.)

Tsubasa: ‘.......Oh? The scent of that perfume, where did I…..’

Kento: ‘........’

(Eh…….Aizome-san?)

Kento: ‘........Haa.’

(Ah…….Could the person just now beーー)

Tsubasa: ‘Aizome-san.’

His eyes widen in surprise when he sees Tsubasa approaching him. But the atmosphere continues to be tense.

Kento: ‘.......Tsubasa? What are you doing here at this hour?’

Tsubasa: ‘I had work…... Aizome-san too, what are you doing?’ 

Kento: ‘......Nothing special. I thought that I just wanted to get some fresh air.’ 

Tsubasa: ‘Really……?’ 

Kento: ‘.......What. If you have something to say, do it.’

Tsubasa: ‘No, uhm…. I do not intend to interrupt your private conversation.’

Tsubasa: ‘Because I think there will be a misunderstanding, you need to pay a bit of attention to the place and time when meeting with a woman……’ 

Kento: ‘Aah…..What’s this.’ 

Tsubasa: ‘T-This, you say…..It is an important matter.’ 

Kento: ‘I know. But, there’s no misunderstanding right now. If meeting your mother is a problem, then I won’t anymore, so rest assured.’

Tsubasa: ‘Eh……Mother?’

Kento: ‘.......She happened to be in this area.’

Kento: ‘Even though it was such a good mood…… Thanks for ruining it.’

Tsubasa: ‘A-Aizome-san……!’

(.......He’s gone. He said mother…...His relationship with her certainly isn’t too good, right…..?)

Tsubasa: ‘I wonder if Aizome-san is fine……’

Part 3

Staff: ‘ーーAizome-san, please stand a bit more to the left.’

Kento: ‘Yes.’

Kento: ‘.....Yuta. The shake before the hook*, can you lower it a bit more?’

Yuta: ‘In this position, the face will be covered by the hands. Let’s try it!!’ 

Goshi: ‘Then, let’s do it one more time, huh.’

Kento: ‘Okay.’ 

(Aizome-san….. As if the other night was a lie, he acts like usual.)

(The day after that day, he behaved as if nothing happened. It’s better to not ask about his mother any more…..right?) __________

ーAfter the rehearsal.ー

Tsubasa: ‘It is about time for『The Classics』to air.’

Yuta: ‘I marked it down in my calendar! I’m looking forward to Kenken, the bell boy~ ♪’

Yuta: ‘Of course, Gochin, the chef as well. Hey, as I thought, you said sweet lines, right?’

Goshi: ‘As if, I don’t remember every single thing.’

Yuta: ‘Eh!? Wasn’t the filming only one month ago!?’

Kento: ‘Goshi’s just shy. He did nothing but unfamiliar things, after all.’

Goshi: ‘Come again?’

Yuta: ‘Well, I knew the whole content because I took a look into the script without permission~ ♪’

Goshi: ‘You………’

Kento: ‘Heh………’

???: ‘ーーKento.’

Tsubasa: ‘Eh?’

The carefree atmosphere ends when a familiar person appears, to Kento’s displeasure.

Kento: ‘........Uh!’

(That is…….Aizome-san’s mother….?)

Yuta: ‘Hm, who is she? One of Kenken’s acquaintances?’

Kento: ‘.........’

Goshi: ‘........Oi, what’s wrong.’

Kento: ‘.........Go ahead, you two.’ 

Yuta: ‘Kenken…..?’

Kento: ‘Quick.’

Goshi: ‘......Let’s go, Ashu.’

Yuta: ‘Eh, Gochin!? But……..’

Goshi: ‘Just come. You too, Sumisora.’

Tsubasa: ‘Y-Yes…….’

Kento: ‘..............’ __________

ーUpstairs in THRIVE’s room.ー

Yuta: ‘Hey…..I wonder if he’ll be fine alone. Kenken made a face that we didn’t see yet just now.’

Goshi: ‘Still, if it’s that person, isn't she at least an acquaintance. If she was troublesome, he would have called the police now or gone back with us.’ 

Yuta: ‘I-I see…..Then is it an important talk……?’

Goshi: ‘Who knows…….I don’t know.’

(Those two don’t know what his mother looks like……...But, it’s not something I can talk about without permission.)

Tsubasa: ‘..............’

Goshi: ‘..............’

Yuta: ‘Uuh…..As I thought, I’ll go look!! I’m worried, after all.’

Goshi: ‘Idiot, quit it. If he comes back and wants to talk, he probably will.’

Yuta: ‘But…….’

Goshi: ‘.......Tch, he’s late. Even though he knows we have a meeting, what’s he even doing.’ 

Yuta: ‘Ah…….Tsubasa-chan. What about the time?’

Tsubasa: ‘Yes, I am not at all…….Because it is not an urgent matter, I will excuse myself for today.’

Yuta: ‘Hm…...That’s probably the best. Sorry.’

Tsubasa: ‘No…...Then, take care.’ __________

ーIn the lobby.ー

(Aizome-san, is he still outside….? Or where did the two of them go toーー)

Kento: ‘...........’

Tsubasa: ‘Ah…….’

Part 4

Kento: ‘...........’

(Aizome-san…...Is he alone?)

(A troubled face……..What is he looking at? An envelope……?)

With an angry face he is about to tear apart the envelope. But he does not expect Tsubasa to call out to him. 

Kento: ‘........Uh.’ 

Tsubasa: ‘! P-Please, wait!’

Kento: ‘.........Tsubasa?’

Tsubasa: ‘I am sorry, I unconsciously…...But, that…..what is it? Is it fine to tear it apart……?’

Kento: ‘.......Who knows, I don’t care.’

Kento: ‘Besides, what does it have to do with Tsubasa?’

Tsubasa: ‘......That……’

(That’s true, it may not have something to do with me…… But I can’t leave Aizome-san alone.)

Tsubasa: ‘......That earlier, was it your mother? Why was she……’

Kento: ‘.......Haa.’

Kento: ‘The other day, it was just by chance that we met after a long time, so she wanted to see my face.’

Kento: ‘.........How shameless.’

Tsubasa: ‘Was it so? If you are a mother, won’t you feel like that……’

Kento: ‘Yeah, I see. If it’s a『mother』, it may be so.’

Kento: ‘But, if she wanted to see my face so badly, she should have been home more often.’

Tsubasa: ‘Aizome-san…….’

Kento: ‘Aah, don’t get me wrong. It’s not that I think I’m lonely or so. Though, I’m already sorry for being swung around out of convenience of the other party’s selfishness.’

Kento: ‘To come all the way here and waiting for my return, there has to be some ulterior motive.’ 

Tsubasa: ‘Ulterior motive……’

Kento: ‘Money or connections, it has to be this, no doubt. That person is a poser after all.’ 

Kento: ‘At any rate, I just will be disappointed if I look into the envelope. It’s useless to expect anything.’

(.......To be honest, I wonder if that’s the case.)

Tsubasa: ‘Uhm…...Should it be money…..If she needed it, then wouldn’t she have asked for it long ago?’

Kento: ‘Eh?’

Tsubasa: ‘It has been quite a while since Aizome-san started to appear on TV, right? So if there is something like…… a request, I think it was not necessary to wait until now.’

Tsubasa: ‘The entertainment world is a fierce industry with ups and downs. I also think that usually the quicker one is more certain.’ 

How she calmly shares her thoughts snaps him out of his vent.

Kento: ‘...........’

Tsubasa: ‘If she thought of this idea the other day when you met each other…...Wouldn’t she have contacted you earlier? And, even if she doesn’t come in person to see you, there are many other ways.’

Kento: ‘Then…..What’s this for?’

Tsubasa: ‘........I do not know. The answer lies in there I think.’ 

Tsubasa: ‘Should it be something that makes Aizome-san anxious, then I will tear it apart and throw it away. Despite that…..Is it fine to open this envelope?’

Kento: ‘...........’

Kento: ‘.........I understand. Do as you like.’

Part 5

Tsubasa: ‘ーーExcuse me.’

Tsubasa: ‘.........This.’

Kento: ‘......What is it?’

Tsubasa: ‘Money. It seems that it contains…..tens of thousands of yen.’ 

Kento: ‘Haa…….’

Kento: ‘As expected, she didn’t change. Does she plan to give me money and curry favour with me, or what?’

Tsubasa: ‘Please wait. It is coming together with a paper. Is this not a letter addressed to Aizome-san?’ 

Kento: ‘Probably all there is written is some stupid stuff…..Give it to me.’ 

Tsubasa: ‘Ah……’

Kento: ‘.......『Eat something delicious with the three of you.』’

Kento: ‘Ha? What’s this…….’

Tsubasa: ‘The three of you…...She means THRIVE, right?’

Kento: ‘.......I don’t understand. For the sake of doing such a thing, did she wait for me outside the whole time? That person……?’

Tsubasa: ‘As I thought, the fact that she wanted to see your face did not mean that there was a request…..Isn’t it just that?’

Kento: ‘Ha…..It can’t be. She’s not the type to think of such a laudable action. I don’t understand why she did this but the true nature of a human doesn’t change that way.’

Tsubasa: ‘Is that so, I am not sure? If so…… then this may be her true nature.’

Kento: ‘..........!’

Yuta: ‘Ah! There you are, Kenken!’

Kento & Tsubasa: ‘!?’

Yuta: ‘You’re together with Tsubasa-chan! Quick, Gochin, come here, come here!’

Goshi: ‘I know so don’t pull…….!’

Tsubasa: ‘Yuta-kun, Kaneshiro-san……..!’

Kento: ‘Be quiet, you can be heard far away.’ 

Kento: ‘Good grief…...What did you come here for.’

Yuta: ‘What the, isn’t it obvious that we came to search for Kenken!’

Yuta: ‘Are you fine? You weren’t bullied by the person earlier!?’

Kento: ‘Bullied……..It’s not that.’ 

(Aizome-san, he’s back to normal…….Or rather, his expression softens…..?)

Kento: ‘Leaving that aside, I’m inviting Tsubasa to eat out now, so don’t get in the way.’

Tsubasa: ‘......!’

Yuta: ‘Eh~! What’s this, what’s this!!’

Goshi: ‘Tch…….Stop that crap, bastard. You know…..!’

Kento: ‘You know? What?’

Goshi: ‘Nothing! Oi, don’t cause trouble for Sumisora. Let’s go back!!’

Kento: ‘Ha? I don’t want to.’

Yuta: ‘Right, let’s go eat together!!’

Kento: ‘No, that’s not what I meant…….’

Kento: ‘Tsubasa, it’s fine with just the two of us, right?’

Tsubasa: ‘Right…...If possible I would like to be with everyoneーー With the three of you.’ 

That answer comes unexpectedly for Kento. He looks at her with disbelief.

Kento: ‘......I see.’

Goshi: ‘Ha, you were dumped.’ 

Yuta: ‘Yay~! Hey, hey, where are we going to? Yakiniku? And ramen as well!?’

Kento: ‘No way. The shop for custom salads is still open.’

Goshi: ‘Ah!? Don’t joke with me, let’s go eat yakiniku.’

Kento: ‘Do you know what time it is? Who’s the one joking.’ 

Tsubasa: ‘.........’

(Aizome-san relaxed expression…...I’m really glad those two came.)

(In the talk earlier, it didn’t mean that anything was solved but today was a chance for Aizome-san’s feelings, even if only a bit…..I hope he was saved.)

Yuta: ‘.......Tsubasa-chan.’

Tsubasa: ‘Ah…….I am sorry, I am coming.’

She is met with a happy Yuta, thanking her with a small blush.

Yuta: ‘Nope, I didn’t mean that…….Thanks.’

Tsubasa: ‘Eh?’

Yuta: ‘Ehehe, it’s good that Tsubasa-chan came.’ 

Tsubasa: ‘Yuta-kun…..’

Yuta: ‘Okay, let’s go!! I will eat lots of meat.’ 

Tsubasa: ‘........Yes!’

END __________________ *Hook: “A hook is a musical idea, often a short riff, passage, or phrase, that is used in popular music to make a song appealing and to "catch the ear of the listener". The term generally applies to popular music, especially rock, R&B, hip hop, dance, and pop.” [Source: Wikipedia]

[thisweekingundamwing]

This Week in Gundam Wing! 10-16 May 2020

Here’s this week’s roundup!

Remember to give your content creators some love! And join in on the events at the bottom!

~Mod Hel

Fanfiction/Snippets/AU Ideas:

@bobo-is-tha-bomb​

Grocery shopping with the GW boys (Ch. 5) https://archiveofourown.org/works/23716735/chapters/58105393

Heero Yuy, Duo Maxwell, Trowa Barton, Quatre Raberba Winner, Chang Wufei

Humor, silliness, Self Insert, Crack, Screenplay/Script Format

Grocery shopping can’t be such a hard task, right? Well... you’re about to find out!

Soul Mate https://archiveofourown.org/works/24213100

F/M, Zechs Merquise/Reader

Zechs Merquise, Reader

Romance, Drama, Angst, Alcohol Abuse

“I can’t go on like this.” Your voice broke over the last word. “You’re hurting me and don’t even seem to care about it.”

“That’s…” He sighed and turned his gaze to the glass in his hand, absentmindedly watching the amber colored liquid swirl around in it. “That’s not true.”

@doctormegalomania​

Your Body’s Poetry (Ch. 14) https://archiveofourown.org/works/20438891/chapters/58204300

F/F, F/M, M/M, Duo Maxwell/Heero Yuy, Trowa Barton/Quatre Raberba Winner, Chang Wufei/Original Female Character(s), Relena Peacecraft & Heero Yuy, Duo Maxwell/Original Male Character(s)

Heero Yuy, Duo Maxwell, Trowa Barton, Quatre Raberba Winner, Chang Wufei, Sally Po, Relena Peacecraft, Lucrezia Noin, Zechs Merquise, Hilde Schbeiker

Past Relationship(s), Slice of Life, Post-Break Up, Slow Burn, Developing Relationship, Implied/Referenced Domestic Violence

Ames pays Duo a visit.

@duointherain​

Magic Possums https://duointherain.tumblr.com/post/617793758568857600/fic-magic-possums-11

Notes:  Okay.. that didn’t come out like I planned.. I’ll try with another possum story, but this one was kind of fun. It has a happy ending.

Warnings: dead body, plague, rescued wild animals

Rage ran along his nerves like an electric surge dancing down exposed wire.  Dangerous, dangerous rage giggled like an itch in his molars.  His host was dead.  He’d been away for six days. The old man had left him a message. The message wasn’t making it better.

@lifeaftermeteor​

LAM https://lifeaftermeteor.tumblr.com/post/618317605927862272/duo-and-heeros-apartment-brussels-belgium-2-may

Duo and Heero’s Apartment, Brussels, Belgium, 2 May 211

All couples fought.  Objectively, Heero knew this.

Subjectively, he thought Duo was being an idiot.

@verytrickymon​

Would that be good enough? https://archiveofourown.org/works/24134926

Duo Maxwell/Heero Yuy

Relena Peacecraft

Hurt/Comfort, Inviting to prom, Prom, First Kiss, sap, Self-Indulgent

Duo and Heero are in undercover in school and the prom party seems to be the next big thing. Heero wants to ask Duo to go with him in order to be able to refuse to Relena and get on with the mission, but maybe that’s not the reason at all... ?

@wingslanding​

The Ultimate Weapon (Ch. 4) https://m.fanfiction.net/s/13494160/4/The-Ultimate-Weapon

Rated: M

Drama & Suspense, adult themes, violence, and lemon content.

Heero Y., Relena P.

He thought he had seen it all. The steel cage of his mind thought nothing could shock his battle-hardened psyche; but today proved him wrong. A threat unlike any other lay beyond the precipice. How would he keep his promise to Relena now?

Fanart/Crafts/Photo Manips:

@alexecinz​

https://alexecinz.tumblr.com/post/618354122404528128/life-is-cheap-heero-yuy-i-suppose-i-am-going

Heero Yuy

@bettertasting​

https://bettertasting.tumblr.com/post/618247407537438720/i-drew-this-little-doodle-to-help-me-get-in-the

Duo, Trowa, & Heero

@bobo-is-tha-bomb​

https://bobo-is-tha-bomb.tumblr.com/post/617756285518086144/revisiting-my-first-ever-gundam-kit-time-to-get

First Gunpla revisited! Wing Zero mini(chibi), gunpla

https://bobo-is-tha-bomb.tumblr.com/post/617848778034118656/this-little-man-is-done-gunpla-gunplabuilder

Wing Zero (chibi), gunpla

@cuteciboulette​

https://cuteciboulette.tumblr.com/post/617829031974436864/cuteciboulette-janaverse-cuteciboulette

Cute bookmarks!

https://cuteciboulette.tumblr.com/post/617837278032805888/update-on-the-crazy-gw-craft-project-trowa

An ongoing Trowa craft project!

@duointherain​

https://duointherain.tumblr.com/post/617769839777415168/heero-and-duo-moved-to-animal-crossing

Duo/Heero in Animal Crossing mode.

@thedownandnerdy​

https://thedownandnerdy.tumblr.com/post/618327249952849920/duo-is-such-a-lil-babe-todays-warm-up-sketch

Duo Maxwell

Head Canons:

@disturbed02girl​

https://disturbed02girl.tumblr.com/post/618276162606661632/trowa-finds-the-idea-of-working-out-amusing-your

GW Fashion Week: Trowa Barton

Fandom Discourse:

@lifeaftermeteor​

https://lifeaftermeteor.tumblr.com/post/618227084659212288/janaverse

Art by @janaverse​

Protesting in GW

Quotes:

@gundaaamn​

https://gundaaamn.tumblr.com/post/184543143920/heero-duo-i-want-you-to-do-me-duo-a

Heero, Duo, & Trowa

@incorrectgundamwingquotes​

https://incorrectgundamwingquotes.tumblr.com/post/618060078307852288/heero-do-you-ever-just-want-to-talk-about-your

Heero, Trowa, & Quatre

https://incorrectgundamwingquotes.tumblr.com/post/618219576248893440/wufei-yeah-ill-probably-die-alone-waitress-i

WuFei & a waitress

Calendar Events:

@gwcocktailfriday​

Cocktail Fridays!

Post responses on Friday, during Happy Hour between 3 & 5 pm in your own timezone.

Here’s the prompt for Friday, May 22nd! https://gwcocktailfriday.tumblr.com/post/618390690414641152/cocktail-friday-post-responses-on-friday-may-22

If anyone has ideas for prompts, PLEASE send them in! Our ask box is always open.

In need of SUMMER prompts!

Currently queuing more of these up, as we apparently ran out on the 2nd... whoops. If you see anything interesting/gw inspiring send it our way!

@wingqueero​

Gundam Wing Pride Party 2020

https://wingqueero.tumblr.com/post/618378058223812608/rainbows-and-glitter-for-everyone-gundam-wing#notes

[bionicdragonguardian1]

Voltron Rewritten Defender (1/8)

Also known as My Almost Raging Bitch List for this Goddamn Disastrous Disappointment of a Show

I binged all 8 seasons in under a week, so believe me when I say almost nothing was forgotten between seasons/episodes and I do tend to note that.

If it’s not obvious by the title, I’m planning an entire show AU. I am extremely open to people’s opinions on what I’m currently thinking and when I finally post this I’ll be open to criticism there too. If you would like to avoid seeing anything in regards to this feel free to blacklist #voltron_rewritten_defender because that’s what I’ll be using for this whole thing.

Enjoy, I guess.

Fair warning I am a multishipper, but for this show I leaned towards Klance, so if that bothers you that’s okay, I’m not going to be bashing any other ships (mainly just Dreamworks’ forced Allurance). If you think I missed something for any other ship lemme know! If you wanna have a ship discussion that’s cool too. The only other thing I can think of is that Allura’s attitude in S8 really stuck with me to the point that she bothered me throughout the entire rewatch (I was admittedly one of the people who thought she could be very Mary Sue ish when I first watched this) so that’ll show up now and again.

If you want to look at the Google Doc for the whole show, click the link, if not you can expand this post to see Season 1. I’ll be doing these in chunks, but as some of you know I do a FicRecList on one of my other accounts here @sorcerusdragonbionics​ so I’m gonna be alternating between that and these for the next couple days.

If you do the Google Route it’ll have you ask me for permission, this is normal and if you request it I’ll give you commenting abilities.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1t30IRJonrBFh0qvs8recf3ayGoQ0rx02y0Tg1e4NTaI/edit?usp=sharing

Key

Things I kinda wanna bitch about

Things I did genuinely enjoy and like 

Rewatch Thoughts (basically what I remember from further forward and how I feel like it reflects back on earlier seasons)

Ship Talk (behold my multishipping insanity)

Things I think I’ll do in the Rewrite

Writing Notes (mainly for me or as explanation for what I’m planning)

VA and Closed Captioning Things

Other Fic Thoughts

This ended up being music commentary in S8

Season One

Problems with the Season overall:

To be honest if I hated this season I wouldn’t’ve kept watching because by the time I started S3 had just dropped

Episode 1

Here’s the deal, WHY ARE YOU SO LONG BUT SO EMPTY?!?

Yeah, nope, that’s mostly it

Fix the problem of telling instead of showing about the other Lions and remove Allura’s explanation of the Lions if possible (thank you Kross for explaining why it felt so empty- this vid is actually where I started getting the idea to actually go through with a full series AU)

DON'T RUSH THE LION INTROS

Also let the 5 introduce themselves to Allura and Coran

Also Character Drive to Complete Mission Should Be A Thing

Flesh out Paladin Personalities so that the Aris Arrival is End of Part One (making it closer to the length of E1)

Flesh out Lion intros so part 2+3 are more like full Eps without Sendak

Episode 2

75 degrees… that’s definitely in Fahrenheit, which why?

How does no one have a watch with a date on them?

“A man can be driven to do anything if a beautiful woman is just really really mean to him”

More inbetween scenes bc I can

I will accept the transformation sequence here, I’m just not going to write it

Episode 3

Please watch the use of Earth Time Slices please, because it’s confusing

I love the portrayal of PTSD in this show and I would die before I change it

Bye bye transformation sequence

Pidge’s talk with Shiro can please change

Episode 4

“I say Vol, you say Tron” will come up again if it kills me

Lance, how do you know what hotdog water and feet taste like?

I love how Coran is completely nonchalant about the fact that he’s drinking a hair tonic

Shiro, don’t bring down the mood

Goddammit Sendak, you could stay for this arc, but god I want you GONE!

Keith, having an emotion? Really?

The Pidge plot DID NOT NEED TO HAPPEN LIKE THAT!

Fight me I will change it

Or minimally change the fact that their selfish motivations are revealed to BAD and should be changed

Oh yeah, let’s not give the ONE GUY with notable homesickness a character arc around that

That moment when you realize Allura is like ‘wtf is a peanut’

Allura, don’t push it, some people don’t want to talk about it

You will have something to talk about, BIOLOGY

Decryption happens here, and next attempt to find family occurs… when?

Poor Coran, if there is anyone who was more forgotten than Lance it was him

Keith isn’t wrong, but he also doesn’t know how to say it without getting mad, which mood

Just pointing out Lance is not only smart, but selfless, tell me how he’s not the main character

My inner Shance/Klance shipper is sobbing

“Bomb fuel” mentioned here, occurs… actually it’s ok

Timelines need to be a thing!

Can I make the fight scenes more intense? Yes, I write them for my YJ Scripts. Will I? Almost definitely.

Keith with that much fire your mask should be closed because smoke inhalation is bad

Can we explain Vrepit Sa before s6?

It feels like Coran forgets that 10k years have passed under an evil empire and part of me likes it, but it hurts me

Episode 5

The Katie flashback is hurts me

I want to add Gender Identity

Can we talk about how Shiro is a nickname for Takashi Shirogane?

That’s not how an EMP works

The Coran sitting on Hunk’s shoulders with a machine gun is everything

I know the back x-ray was a joke, but I still don’t like it

Rax is an idiot, just saying

Bonding Moment!!!

Episode 6

“Intergalactic time measuring competition.”

“We had a bonding moment!”

Where is Sendak’s arm?

Fight me, Pidge’s ‘gender speech’

It will be a gender speech if it kills me

Lance, why are you acting the way you are?

“I figured” and “We were supposed to think you were a boy” ARE NOT PROPER REACTIONS!

Rolo, sometimes I want to punch you in the teeth

Lance’s boner is going to get someone killed

Lance had 4sec of logic and then Nyma brings up Keith, which ofc does him in

Let’s expand on the Komar, yeah?

Quiznack means fuck and NO ONE can tell me otherwise

Keith’s ability to fly is impressive and it’s awesome

Friendly reminder that Lance acknowledged the bonding moment

Episode 7

I LOVE the laser gun sound effects!!!

I just realized that Allura has no clue what an Acronym is

We… literally just talked about this and YOU didn’t know that Shiro, I understand the point, but seriously?

LIONS are TELEPATHIC Shiro DID NOT need to say that aloud!

I do actually like the fact that Kieth gets excited before realizing what he did

FIRE and ICE PEOPLE come on! What the hell?! You barely had to try

“Yes sir?” Keith to Shiro, what?

I love them and their cute little arguments

Left vs Right, thank you Zamber

We be lovin’ Hunay bc it’s pure as hell

Thank you Shiro for validating Hunk’s concerns

You could check  a little faster, Allura

I LIVE for this scene

Was it actually Rolo?

Do they have teleporters?

Keith being weird is my favorite thing

I love good big bros who argue tradition to save their baby sis

Zarkon is a bit of a moron

THEIR LIVES ARE IN DANGER ALLURA!

They all came through different doors… how?

What if the answer was no?

I’m ok with Lance embarrassing himself when he’s cocky, some people seem to forget that

Bye transformation sequence, I explained you ONCE and that’s it

Prorock… why are you familiar?

Episode 8

I admittedly forgot that they didn’t know these things would be different

Flying fight scenes I can do, teleporting not so much

Poor Shiro he thought he had an idea and he was wrong

I love Coran’s reaction

Also NO SHIT Allura

UHHHH Pidge said that not and of the other three so how did He know?

Allura may piss me off, but I do love this speech

“Your Altean Energy”??? Coran, you’re an Altean, I’m confused.

The “Sacred Altean” thing I get, but you must be more specific cuz it makes Coran sound like he thinks he’s not a proper Altean.

Oof, angsty

Also, I  know we can’t kill Allura yet, but... 

I love that Hunk forgot they hadn’t formed Voltron

Bye bye transformation sequence

Ummm, they NEED to explain the Bayard Equip bc that’s… two very different things that occurred between Hunk and Keith’s Bayard Weapons

Why is this a scene? It’s not a dog. So, yeah, I’m with Keith here

Episode 9

THIS IS NOT HEALTHY ALLURA!

I just realized that this doesn’t come back until S..7? 8? Whatever, WAY too long

I can’t unhear “Training Dick”

Did they have homework on Altea?

Be still my Punk shipper heart

WHY is he SO pretty?!

Y’know, the glowing red eye is usually a bad sign

I could SO mean and hurt Keith here

That moment when you’re like 90% sure Shiro heard that somewhere

Not what haunted means Coran, but accurate

Why could Lance see Alfor for a second?

I too would like the answer to “where was the Red Lion?”

PTSD IS AMAZINGLY WRITTEN!

It’s a shame this is NEVER treated properly again

Thank you for NOT making the swimming thing a thing

You didn’t need to TRY Voltron, what the hell?!

Here’s the deal,  Altea not being Obliterated-obliterated is actually a really interesting idea

Lance still wins, for the record

If she was infected in any way this wouldn’t drive me crazier than a bot on Halloween

But she’s not so this is BULL

Shallura confuses me SO much…

Ok, admittedly the scene with Allura and Alfor is beautifully heartbreaking

Episode 10

The fact that Zarkon was a close friend to Alfor should be addressed

Also Shiro calling himself “an inexperienced Pilot” hurts

Allura’s a MORON!

YES! MASSIVE ISSUE WITH YOU COMING

Nice puppetry Hunk

What happened to THIS Allura?! She’s reckless but not INSANE (or so boring I might cry)!

Is this the same Druid from Season 8? Pretty sure it’s 8… I forget which, but the one Keith fought

“Don’t walk through that door!” / Keith does/ “I think I told him” // “You are a paragon of leadership, Lance”

Hehheh I love Hunk teasing Lance about Allura

I do actually the fact that I can’t tell what size the purple container is until Keith grabs it

Heheh the Allura interacting with the Galra soldier

The computer sounds like Lance

Also Shiro had that “holy shit” moment

I HATE WRITING TELELPORTING FIGHTS

I’m 99% sure that the ONLY reason I didn’t fall into the Galra Keith rabbit hole was the fact that I binge watched

This scene confuses me… so much now that I know Shallura was apparently never going to be a thing

So confused

Episode 11

That hair flip though...

Coran, I get it, but calm down

Okay, but Keith has a point. Seriously, he’s not wrong. 

For the record, Haggar scares me

So much makes so much more sense now that we know Zarkon is the Original Black Paladin

That… makes no sense… “enough essence to open a wormhole”

Why are you transforming? More pieces to shoot at is usually a smart idea…

Hey hey, THACE!

Why can’t you have two active at once? I’m honestly serious.

I mean too OP, got it, but you can maneuver around that for temporary stuff

Shiro, use your words, yeah?

“Thinking” uh huh you mean “telepathy” right?

I genuinely forgot that Shiro got booted from Black

Damn! Yes Shiro! Kick some ass!

Ok, here’s the deal, Keith’s not listening to Coran, but he doesn’t have all the info (LIKE THE FUCKING BAYARD), Zarkon’s the OG Paladin, and he’s in distress

I HATE TELEPORTERS!

“Could have been” … uh Kuron exists ?? 

Also, Shiro with yellow eyes is fucking terrifying

We ain’t ficking stupid VLD

Zarkon’s a fucking idiot

Written properly his power-hungry attitude works even with him destroying his own ship

But it wasn’t so it’s null

You aren’t even subtle about Galra Keith

How can Allura see through Illusions?

Nobody knows!

Shiro, you have no jetpack, how are you so fast?

“Who cares, wormhole!” mood

I… uh… I want to do SO many things with this idea

Preferably not what they actually do...

[sebseyesandbuckysthighs]

Three Soldiers and a Baby | Part Three

summary: Three handsome bachelors find their day to day operations disrupted when an unexpected new roommate (who comes complete with a diaper and a pacifier) shows up at their doorstep. How will they deal with this new and baffling responsibility without losing their minds or killing each other in the process?

pairings: Bucky x Reader (eventual) featuring Steve Rogers & Sam Wilson

warnings: mild language, an f-bomb right out the gate!

a/n: Helloooooo and welcome to Part 3!!! I’ve tried to keep each part close to drabble length so apologies for the shorter length, but that’s just how it ended up working out for me. Anyways, hopefully you enjoy this part, m’loves! 

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 |

*warning to mobile users, the “keep reading” tab may not work so apologies in advance*

| previously |

After a panicked showdown of ‘Rock, Paper, Scissors’ followed by some minor nausea, Steve was carefully reaching into the bassinet. He gently felt around the edges of the soft bedding doing his best to avoid any contact with the baby. After a few harrowing seconds, holding his breath the entire time, he came upon the flat edge of a small envelope and pulled it out. It took a minute before Steve’s uncharacteristically trembling fingers managed to open the letter without ripping it apart. There was no name addressed on the outside and only a few pages inside written in neat script. It took less than a minute for Steve to read through the pages and another couple seconds to pass before he read it again. By the end, both he and Sam had read the letter another half dozen times and neither of them felt any better. The situation just got a little more complicated than it already was.

Sam’s voice was low and harsh when he said. “Barnes is a dead man.”

“No,” Steve sighed, rubbing his temples as he felt the beginnings of a migraine start to take over. “Barnes is a daddy.”

“What. The. Fuck? You see this? See what your pal, your buddy, your Bucky went and did now!” Sam was well passed the point of freaking out and if he didn't reel it in soon they risked waking the baby. Steve kept massaging his temples, silently begging for what was sure to be a pounding headache to go away, but vocally pleading with Sam to calm down.

“Calm down? Calm down?! How the hell am I supposed to calm down after that idiot knocked up his ex-girl? We don't know even know who she is!” Sam was pacing back and forth before stopping short. “Who the hell leaves a baby behind on someone's doorstep anyways?”

Steve thumbed at the edges of the letter. The lines were starting to blur together as he tried to process everything he read. “A desperate woman,” he thought to himself. “A woman scared enough to think that she had no other choice.”

The woman who wrote this letter was in some kind of trouble. She didn't specify why or what was going on, just that she needed to make sure her baby, her daughter, was safe. “Bucky's daughter.” The words echoed in Steve's mind. “Bucky is a father and this is his little girl.” Despite all the unknowns and the stress of the situation, Steve couldn't contain a small smile.

Elizabeth, or Ellie for short, was only 9 months old. Her head was covered with thick hair, more than he knew a baby could have, and the tiniest hands Steve had ever seen. He couldn't tell what color her eyes were since she was still sleeping and even though he was curious he didn't mind waiting as long as possible before she woke up to show him.

Steve looked down at the now crumpled pages with the woman's words again. Between apologizing and pleading for Bucky not to worry or go out to find her, she also left some information on how to take care of Ellie. It wasn't much, but knowing what size diapers she wore, what type of formula she could have, along with her feeding and sleep schedule was as much of a silver lining as they could hope for.

“Alright, what are we gonna do now? We can't take care of a baby.” Sam resumed his pacing, but thankfully kept his voice down this time.

“We were babies once.” Steve offered, which only made Sam scoff impatiently.

“Yeah Steve, and we spent that entire time shitting ourselves and crying until we got the next bottle. I don't recall being able to wipe my own ass back then so excuse me if I don't believe this kid is just gonna take care of herself.”

With a lack of energy for this argument Steve decided to try a more diplomatic approach. “I know that, Sam. We're just going to take it one step at a time and figure out how we're supposed to do this. It's not going to be easy, but if we can take down a legion of homicidal machines, we can take care of this baby.”

Sam staggered back a couple steps, staring in disbelief at his friend. “What do you mean, “One step at a time”? Steve, you're starting to freak me out. You're acting like we're doing something other than calling child services or the police.”

A grave look fell over Steve's face. As slowly and calmly as he could manage, he stood up and faced the other rattled man. “That's not going to happen, Sam. We can't do that and we're not going to.”

“Like hell we can't! This isn't our problem. And maybe you don't remember, but I wasn't in Sokovia. I didn't take care of nothing back then and I can't take care of this baby now.” Sam shook his head rapidly, seemingly not even willing to entertain the thought.

The situation was tense since they were both running on pure adrenaline and shock at this point. What Steve needed to do now was calm his friend down as best he could before the man had a damn panic attack. Or did something they'd both regret. Steve took a few steps closer to him and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. “Sam, Bucky is our friend. More than that, he's family.” Then he nodded down to the baby. “This little girl is his family now too and we will take care of her.”

Although his eyes still held an edge of panic, Sam's breathing was starting to even out just a little bit. “How do we even know this is for real? The kid doesn't even look like him. Maybe she's not actually his baby. Maybe the girl lied.” He tried reasoning even if he knew he was just grasping at straws.

“The baby is his.” Steve said with conviction. “Call it intuition.”

Sam laughed, but the sound held no humor. “Yeah well I hope your intuition comes with a plan cause taking care of a baby isn't a natural instinct I think I have.” Even though he had managed to calm down he was still somewhat hesitant, Sam looked down into the bassinet, finally taking a good look at the sleeping child. One corner of his lips tugged upwards with a hint of a smile. “She is pretty cute though.”

Steve smiled warmly at Ellie's peaceful face. “She's absolutely beautiful.”

“And at least she smells slightly better than Barnes.” Sam joked, even managing to let out a small chuckle.

No sooner had Sam said the words than Ellie began to wiggle and squirm. Little noises of discomfort started out low and soon turned into a full-on cry. What followed the tiny wailing was a smell that could clear a room. It very nearly did as Sam choked and turned on his heel to get away, pinching his nostrils shut. Before he could get too far, Steve managed to grab him by the back of his shirt collar to reel him back in. There was no way he was handling this on his own. “You spoke too soon, Sam.”

The hands desperately covering his nose and mouth caused Sam's voice to sound muffled. “That's just nasty.”

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a/n: As I try to do with many of my fics, I left the description for reader, and now the baby, to be pretty vague. I want to be as inclusive as possible so it was pretty difficult figuring out whether I would name the baby or not, but then an idea came to mind and I went with what I did for very specific reasons. Later chapters shall reveal! 

Feedback is always appreciated, leave it here!

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part two << part three >> part four 

Series Masterlist

Full Masterlist

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tags:

@avengerofyourheart | @absolukeyrh | @ashlieadelia | @a-timeheist | @avengerskeeper | @buckys-other-punk | @captainwinterfalcon | @crazinessgraveyardsandcartoons | @curvybihufflepuff | @depressedpolishgirl | @divinediego | @dumblani | @fab-notfat | @feelmyroarrrr | @hv-chw3 | @igotkatiepowers | @jesusbriskets | @kindnesswins | @kingcarterprince | @lbouvet | @mcuwillbethedeathofme | @mileysebschmidt | @miss2001babe | @rachelle-on-the-run | @rainbowkisses31 | @rraise-a-glass-to-freedom | @rumoured-whispers | @sassylittlesamoan | @scarlettsoldier | @sexyvixen7 | @sgtbxckybxrnes | @sunmoonandbucky | @tanelle83 | @thefridgeismybestie | @this-is-mycrisis | @unlikelygalaxygiver | @verymuchclosetedfangirl | @yallneedtrek | @yknott81 | @yourpotatotwiceremooved | @3dsaunt

[papermoonloveslucy]

HUMILIATED & UNHAPPY

July 16, 1960

TV Guide ~ July 16-22, 1960 (Vol.8, No.29 & Issue #381) Cover photo by Sherm Weisberg, Fashions by Sacks Fifth Avenue

This was Lucille Ball’s tenth (of 39) TV Guide covers. 

“A VISIT WITH LUCILLE BALL” by Dan Jenkins

On January 19, 1953, Desi Arnaz rushed exultantly into the Hollywood Brown Derby, grinning that wide, idiotic grin common to new fathers for the past several eons. Striding down a side isle, he threw his arms excitedly in the air and shouted, "Now we got everythin'!" By "everythin'," Arnaz was encompassing quite a bit of territory - an eight-pound son born that morning, the birth of the Ricardo son on ‘I Love Lucy’ that same night and a gold-plated peak of popularity for a television series which, in all probability, will never again be approached. On May 4, 1960, just seven years later, Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball, quite possibly the most widely known couple in show-business history, were divorced. She had sued for divorce once before (she didn't complete the proceedings), but that was back in 1944 when Desi was a corporal in the Army, Lucy was a star at MGM and World War II was getting all the headlines. By 1960, the Lucy-Desi combine had made so many headlines that no one even bothered to look at the press-clipping scrapbooks any more, or the countless awards that had rolled in on them from all over the country. On an overcast spring afternoon, just 10 days after the divorce, Lucille Ball was sitting in her small but tastefully decorated dressing room on the Desilu lot. That morning, during a short drive over to the neighboring Paramount lot to confer with the producers of her upcoming picture with Bob Hope, she had stuck her head out the window of her chauffeur-driven car and shouted to a friend, "Hi! Remember me? I used to work at Desilu." The remark was not only typical of Lucy Ball but an unwitting reflection of her character and a classic off-the-cuff example of the laugh-clown-laugh tradition. Like most true clowns, Lucy is not a jovial, outgoing person. Her devastating sense of humor, often with a cutting edge, is reserved for her friends. In her dealings with the press she is precise, truthful - and sparing with words. A newsman asked her recently if she had plans to marry again. Lucy stared at him for a few seconds and said simply, "No." (1) The newsman felt that Lucy had missed her calling and should be rushed into the negotiations with Khrushchev forthwith. Relaxing (which is to say, at least sitting down for a few minutes) with an old friend in her dressing room that spring afternoon, Lucy alternated between abrupt sentences and spilled-over paragraphs. On the subject of her immediate plans, she talked almost as though by rote. "I start rehearsals this week for a picture with Bob Hope. It's called 'The Facts of Life.' [She did not wince at the title.] I liked it the minute I read the script and said I'd do it if Bob would. It's written and produced by Norman Panama and Melvin Frank. We have a 10-week shooting schedule. "Then I go to New York with the two children, my mother and two maids. We have a seven-room apartment on 69th Street at Lexington. I'll start rehearsals right away for a Broadway show, 'Wildcat.' It's a comedy with music, not a musical comedy, but the music is important. I play a girl wildcatter in the Southwestern oil fields around the turn of the century. It was written by N. Richard Nash, who wrote 'The Rainmaker.' He is co-producer with Michael Kidd, the director. We're still looking for a leading man. I want an unknown. He has to be big, husky, around 40. He has to be able to throw me around, and I'm a pretty big girl. He has to be able to sing, at least a little. (2) I have to sing, too. It's pretty bad. When I practice, I hold my hands over my ears. We open out of town - I don't know where - and come to New York in December. [Ed. Note: ‘Wildcat’ is now scheduled to make its debut in Philadelphia in November.] (3) "I'm terrified. I've never been on the stage before, except in 'Dream Girl' years ago. But we always filmed ‘I Love Lucy’ before a live audience. I knew a long time ago that I was eventually going to go to Broadway and that's one reason why we shot Lucy that way. But I'm still terrified. The contract for the play runs 18 months. Maybe it will last that long. Maybe longer. And maybe it will last three days." (4) The phone rang. A man's voice, the resonant kind which a telephone seems to make louder, wanted to know if Lucy would like to go out that night. Lucy's expression indicated that the whole idea was a bore but the man prattled on. He apparently had a commitment to attend a young night-club singer's act. "I've seen him twice already," Lucy said into the phone, "and his press agent is now saying I've been there eight times. If I go again the kid will be saying I'm in love with him. He's 2-feet-6 and nine years old. I don't want any part of it." The voice on the phone turned to a tone of urgent pleading. Lucy held the phone away from her at arms length and looked to the ceiling for advice and guidance. She finally hung up. "I go out because people ask me to," she said. "I have no love for night clubs, unless there's an act I especially want to see. And I don't especially want to see this kid's again." She lit another cigarette. "Nervous habit," she said. "I don't inhale, never did. Just nerves.” "I get tired too easily. The reaction is beginning to set in. I've had pneumonia twice in a year. That's not good." There was a long silence. Even for old friends, Lucy is not an easy person to talk to. "I filed for the divorce the day after I finished my last piece of film under the Westinghouse contract," she said suddenly. "I should have done it long ago." Would there ever be any more Lucy-Desi specials like those Westinghouse had sponsored? (5) She stared. "No," she said abruptly. She paused. "Even if everything were alright, we'd never work together again. We had six years of a pretty successful series and two years of specials. Why try to top it? That would be foolish. We always knew that when the time came to quit, we'd quit. We were lucky. We quit while we were still ahead." Was she happy?

Another stare. "Am I happy? No. Not yet. I will be. I've been humiliated. That's not easy for a woman." She started to talk about the recent years with Desi. She talked in a quiet, factual monotone, a voice that had been all through bitterness and was now beyond it. She talked with an implicit faith that what she was saying was off the record. It was. Some day, it was suggested to her, somebody was going to write the story. She stared. "Who would want to?" (6) She looked over at the framed picture of Desi that stood on a small table. "Look at him," she said. "That's the way he looked 10 years ago. He doesn't look like that now. He'll never look like that again." The door was opened and a spring breeze began drawing some of the heavy cigarette smoke out of the room. Lucy smiled a little and turned to her desk. "Try to write," she said finally, "more than I said but not as much as I said." 

FOOTNOTES

(1) Lucille Ball did indeed marry again - to Gary Morton (born Morton Goldaper) on November 21, 1961.  They remained married until her death. 

(2) Gordon MacRae, Jock Mahoney, and Gene Barry were considered before Lucille selected Keith Andes to play the role of Joe Dynamite. He was indeed 40 years old at the time of casting. He committed suicide in 2005. 

(3) 'Wildcat’s’ Philadelphia tryout opened on October 29, 1960. The Broadway opening had to be postponed when trucks hauling the sets and costumes to New York were stranded on the New Jersey Turnpike by a major blizzard. After two previews, the show opened on December 16th at Broadway’s Alvin (now Neil Simon) Theatre.

(4) ‘Wildcat’ ran for 171 regular performances. The show was on hiatus from February 5, 1961 through February 9, 1961 during Lucille Ball's illness. The production was to take a 9-week hiatus after June 3rd, 1961 and re-open August 7, 1961, to complete Ball’s contract, but the show closed and did not return due to Ball’s physical exhaustion. 

(5) Jenkins is referring to the 13 “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hours” which were part of the “Westinghouse-Desilu Playhouse” which continued the adventures of the Ricardos and the Mertzes, including guest stars, musical numbers, and travel-themed episodes. 

(6) Lucy and Desi’s tempestuous marriage has been the subject of several books, two television movies, an award-winning documentary, and at least one stage musical! 

TV Guide columnist Dan Jenkins had his name used by “I Love Lucy” in “Redecorating” (ILL S2;E8) in 1952 for the used furniture salesman played by Hans Conried.  His name was also mentioned in “Lucy and Ethel Buy The Same Dress” (S3;E3) as a possible emcee for their television show.  His qualifications? He plays tissue paper and comb! 

In 1953, when Lucille Ball was accused of being a Communist, the real Dan Jenkins stood up at a press conference and said “Well, I think we all owe Lucy a vote of thanks, and I think a lot of us owe her an apology.” Lucy and Desi walked over to where Jenkins was standing and gave him a huge hug. Jenkins later said, “From that time on, we were very good friends.”  His last interview with Lucy was in 1986 during “Life with Lucy.” 

OTHER ARTICLES

“Shari Lewis and her Puppets” - Lewis was a ventriloquist who’s main character was the sock puppet Lambchop.  In 1960, after years of guest-starring on television, Lewis got her own show, which lasted three years on NBC. 

“Ty Hardin’s Whirlwind Career” - Ty Hardin and his western show “Bronco” (1958-63) was ABC TV’s answer to Clint Walker’s “Cheyenne”.  

“From the Mouth’s of Babes Comes Happy’s Gimmick” - “Happy” (1960-61) was the nickname of a baby, who’s thoughts could be heard by the viewers in this one-season sitcom.  It was filmed at Desilu Studios. 

“The Untouchables - Fact and Fiction: Part 2″ - “The Untouchables” (1959-63) was a series that began on “The Westinghouse-Desilu Playhouse” and turned into a hit weekly show by Desilu. 

PHOTO FEATURES

“Linkletter’s Packing Tips” - Art Linkletter was one of television’s most popular hosts and presenters. Lucille Ball appeared on his show “House Party” in 1965 as well as a 1966 episode of “The Lucy Show” and a 1970 episode of “Here’s Lucy,” both times playing himself. 

“Connie Stevens’ Calorie Counter” - Connie Stevens was a singer and actress then playing Cricket Blake on “Hawaiian Eye” (1959-63). 

REVIEW

“Mystery Show” - was a mystery anthology series broadcast on NBC from May 1960 to September 1960 as a summer replacement for “The Dinah Shore Chevy Show” with Walter Slezak as host, except for the last three episodes, which had Vincent Price as host.

At the time Evelyn Bigsby was the Associate Managing Editor for Women’s Features at TV Guide’s Hollywood Bureau. Her name was given to the new mother (played by Mary Jane Croft) who sits next to Lucy on the plane in “Return Home From Europe” (ILL S5;E26) in 1956. 

Depending on the time zone, “I Love Lucy” was re-run every morning at 10 or 11am. Here it competed with “The Price Is Right” which was broadcast in color!  NBC (RCA) was the leader in color television and staked its claim far soon than CBS. “The Lucy Show” didn’t air in color until the fall of 1965. 

In another market, “I Love Lucy” ran weekdays at 10am. This edition (same cover and feature articles, different listings) included “Lucy” episode descriptions, while others did not. Notice that an hour earlier the same channel re-ran Desilu’s series “December Bride”. On Monday, July 18, 1960, the re-run was “Second Honeymoon” (ILL S5;E14).  From this we can logically assume that this week, in this particular TV market, channel 2 and 8 presented:

TUESDAY, JULY 19, 1960 - “Lucy Meets the Queen (ILL S5;E15)

WEDNESDAY, JULY 20, 1960 - “The Fox Hunt” (ILL S5;E16)

THURSDAY, JULY 21, 1960 -  “Lucy Goes To Scotland” (ILL S5;E17)

FRIDAY, JULY 22, 1960 - “Paris at Last” (ILL S5;E18)

On Tuesday, July 19, 1960, at 8:30pm, CBS aired the unsold pilot for "Head of the Family". The pilot had Carl Reiner as TV writer Rob Petrie, Barbara Britton as Rob's wife Laura, Sylvia Miles as Sally Rogers, and Morty Gunty as Buddy Sorrell. In 1961, CBS would score a hit with a new name and a new cast of Dick Van Dyke, Mary Tyler Moore, Rose Marie, and Morey Amsterdam, filmed at Desilu Studios. 

For American TV viewers, this was the week between the Democratic National Convention (July 11-15) and the Republican National Convention (July 25-28).  Both parties affirmed their November presidential candidates: John F. Kennedy (D) and Richard M. Nixon (R). Kennedy would prove the victor on Election Day. 

Eight years earlier, in July 1952, an estimated 70 million voters watched the broadcasts, which ended with the nominations of Adlai Stevenson II and Dwight D. Eisenhower.  Although the conventions were also televised in 1948, few Americans owned a TV set to watch them. There was a popular myth that Stevenson lost the election because of backlash from interrupting airings of “I Love Lucy” with hour-long campaign ads. Another story has Stevenson receiving a telegram from a Lucy fan that read: “I love Lucy, but I hate you.”  The situation was paralleled on “I Love Lucy” in “The Club Election” (ILL S2;E19).  By 1956, the conventions were less a novelty on television, and drew smaller ratings and less attention. In the summer of 1956, Lucy and Desi were preparing their sixth and final season of “I Love Lucy” and storylines had to revolve around big name guest stars (Orson Welles and Bob Hope) and the move to Connecticut. 

Lucille Ball’s last appearance as Lucy Ricardo was on April 1, 1960, just four and a half months before this issue of TV Guide hit the stands. She wouldn’t return to series television until September 1962, by which time Lucille will be back on the cover of TV Guide once again.  She remained a yearly fixture on the Guide cover until 1974 and then made only one more original appearance to mark her return with “Life With Lucy.” 

After this article comes out, the next time TV viewers see Lucille Ball on their home screens is to promote her film with Bob Hope, The Facts of Life, on “The Garry Moore Show” on September 27, 1960. The film opened in November 1960. 

For more about TV Guide and “I Love Lucy” click here!  

[leviathiane]

SHOW US YOUR WROR RAW UNPROCESSED WHOLE GRAIN ORGANIC NOTES

this is going to be a long-ass post i am so sorry to Everyone! i take a lot of notes.

So, as You specifically know (as well as all of my lovely Soggers) I take a LOT of notes. Obsessively. I write fucking everything bc i have very little memory and very much paranoia. This results in literal Piles of notes. Raw planning, on paper, on my phone– doodles of scenes im brainstorming, bulletpoints, entire SCRIPTS– it’s all there but scattered (I’ve got scenes planned in the margins of my goddamn anthropology notes and deciphering it was a NIGHTMARE) 

I won’t even upload all the photos of my writing notebook, because itd be like 50 pages of illegible nonesense. but heres a couple of planning phase pages. (may be hard to read, I dropped this notebook both into some tidepools, into a creek on campus, and accidentally leaked my waterbottle onto it in my backpack :/) 

if you can’t tell already, yes they all look exactly like this. Some are even more illegible, because I wrote them with the notebook half under my actual class notes. Because i wrote most of them in class. During lectures. And pretending very badly that i was not doing exactly that. (pay attention in class please i got away with this bc i was filling up elective units) 

I’m also flat out MISSING a large portion of my notes bc some of it? isnt even in the damn notebook. its on a sheet of binder paper, or on the empty back of an assignment. I’ve now lost most of those notes, but the ones i do still have are just as (even more, actually) indecipherable chicken scratch: 

Wow, how clean and tidy and easy to follow! i am in hell. 

and this doesnt mention the PAGES and PAGES of outlines that are on my laptop, and the pages of outlined scenes that are on the notes app of my phone. if i put them all, you would have entire chapter spoilers up to the very end of the story so i cant post a lot of them– and also theres just a goddamn lot of them. currently i have 16 pages of outlining. There are no spacing breaks. It is a solid 16 page block of text. Looking at it gives me a migraine. 

some assorted notes which i have dredged up from the deleted parts of the main draft google doc go all the way back to when i started Wror in June and they are Barely more readable than my handwriting on sheer account of: articulation is not my strength. These include: 

“Ch 8 plan: sabo gets trained specially, awakens his armament haki, beats ace in a bunch of spars and proves himself to be anything but vulnerable. The boys are like “we fucking recognize that technique ryu taught you before us!!” and goad ryu into finally starting them both on basic haki training, just to awaken it, since sabo already has. Also this is the chapter that ace finally confronts ryu for his devil fruit after ryu confirms that some devil fruit users can’t be hurt without haki and ace immediately catches onto that and tries to slam his pipe through ryus head. It doesn’t work, ryu catches the weapon with a haki covered hand, to avoid turning to flame with hit and ace just gets frustrated and accuses ryu of hiding his devil fruit, because he remembers what he saw in grey terminal and that now that he has seen haki he can distinguish it from what he saw and he’s sure no one could do what ryu did. He calls ryu a hypocrite for coddling them even after telling them to stop coddling sabo and ryu has to sit them down and explain that yes he does have powers and he has been hdiing it and explains his reasoning. However instead of understanding th eboys just get fired up and say they don’t wnt to be scared of fire, especially not when it means ryu isn’t taking them seriously in a spar. Ryu finally agrees to start them on desensitization training for fire trauma. Fire desensitization training happens on the beach, so that they have water nearby in case things get out of hand. At some point ace gives ryu a considering look and is just like “if you have a devil fruit that means you can’t swim either right?” and ryu is basically just like “lmao yeah” and then ace immediately attempts to drown him. Lots of murder attempts in ace’s department toget his older brother to be less of an idiot with little success lol(extra: ace tried to attack ryu earlier both to confirm that ryu has a devil fruit that would force him to use haki to hide it, and because he now knows that he CAN’T hurt ryu without haki and as thus can’t beat him and make him admit he’s awake without being good at haki.)” [chapter 8] 

“Small sabo lost his hat and goggles in the incident and while he doesn’t remember having them future sabo notices he looks uncomfortable and keeps touching his hair and head. Ace yells at him for it thinking he bandaging are bothering him and that he can’t touch them but little sabo just comments that something about it feels wrong. Luffy blurts our that he had a hat, like luffy does, But he doesn’t now ace begrudgingly mentions that they can’t get a new one in town. Future sabo doesn’t even hesitate and just plops his own hat onto his younger selves head. It clearly too big for him, and almost falls over his eyes but he grins up at future sabo and is like “wow!! Thank you! I’ll take care of it till I have one of my own” and creates a paradox like Luffys own hat. The footsteps younger sabo has yet to fill. This HAS to happen AFTER the talk where they explain that future and past sabo are both the same person, to give little sabo that pressure.” [chapter 9]

“(Right after this older sabo takes them down to the ocean so that they can play a little and desensitize themselves and immediately fucks himself over when he goes weak in the water bc he somehow fucking forgot his own devil fruit again and now even younger sabo is on his case about not letting him near the fucking ocean that little goddamn HYPOCRITE—) )” [for chapter 9]

“Ch 9 plan: they finally leave dawn island. Starts with the boys getting a haircut after training and luffy mentions how long it’s been since they’ve last needed a haircut, giving sabo and ace time to point out that it’s been 2 months now since ryu joined them, and that sabo was completely healed by now. The boys are now aware of the basics of haki, and while luffy hasnt awakened either yet ace and sabo both have a little bit of weak armament haki. (sabo won’t awaken observational haki until he gets his memories back) ryu tries to sneak off into the city to steal a boat but his brothers refuse to leave him behind and keep sneaking out after him, not wanting him to go alone and saying that since he’s been training them they’re clearly stronger and he needs to let them do this. Ryu eventually just lets it go because why the fuck not it’s a dream and they make him feel better. They get the boat out on open ocean and finally fucking sail out, cheering loudly, ryu struggling to make them all calm down but also not really trying. He’s happy as shit, and they’re all so excited and happy and sabo dips a hand into the waves and then smiles so fucking wide and tackles ryu so violently they both nearly tip into the water and it’s just very very good. “ [also for ch 9] 

** I flat out dont Have any outlining from before chapter 6, because i only started actually outling chapters after that. i tend to just sit down and Write up until i hit a plot point or writers block and then am forced to actually think it through and plan rather than letting it come naturally. thats also why the quality and editing is better in later chapters despite everything being written within the same time frame. 

besides entire chapter outlines, there are the scene specific phone notes like:

“(ADDED) Right after they leave dawn, when sabo is sure they’ve gotten enough of a head start, he calls Garp. He doesn’t say who he is, but that all of the boys are safe and happy with him and has them all talk into the phone to assure him that they’re fine. Garp is honestly just pissed off he doesn’t know who’s calling and when he asks sabo just laughs and says a disobedient brat before hanging up. “

“(ADDED) TO EXPAND ON CH 3: sabo gets offered the chance to go with dragon, and he hesitates on the offer to go through with his previous life with the family he’s made in the revolutionary again. He almost agrees, because the bought of losing them in this lifetime is near excruciating but reminds himself swiftly that it’s no place for his brothers and not what they’d really want, and he wants selfishly to be with them as long as he Can until he “inevitably” wakes up. The boys are visibly relieved by this, especially ace. (Sabo gets asked who he is by dragon, who wants to know more about the stranger with his son, but dragon has always been quicker to make connections no one guessed and he just smiled knowingly at sabo and tells him he’s sure the other will have no trouble finding them if he’s in need. Sabo in turn warns him to keep Kuma close, and to look for a slave girl named koala.)”

I have…. many of these. I have Many of Everything. 

finally, i have scene doodles. if i hit a bad writers block it usually helps me to sketch scenes or the character designs to regain my grip on what the hell is happening in the plot– Breach of Intention has character design sketches, pakcbond has MANY scene sketches, even some of my nsfw has some sketches. my wror skecthes arent Good of course, I am an art teacher for children and that means i am more often explaining the color wheel and brush techniques over drawing perfect human replicas– and i just dont really make a lot of fanart? ive never drawn sabo before but i sure have a bunch now. i wont include close ups because they genuinely suck but heres an example pic 

So… yeah thats about everything. this is a VERY long post and yet i only included like maybe ¼ or 1/5 of all the notes i have dbskhjgfkjadns lmk if anyone wants more (or notes for my Other stories, which contain NO WHERE the same absurd amount of shit that wror does.)

[riotatthemovies]

   Six Questions with Riot A few weeks ago I posted a review of Jessie's Super Normal Regular Average Day staring Ellie Church. Ellie is a beautiful and passionate actress that has been delivering many genre films over the last decade. Mysterious creature films like Harvest Lake to action movies like Time to Kill or bloody horror in Headless. Adding her personality filled with charm and cheekiness which personally I see growing in more comedic roles like Space Babes from Outer Space. I can't recommend these titles enough and Ellie stands out in each of them. So I am honored she let me throw some silly six questions at her so you guys can get to know her a little better. 

 Riot: Since 2013 you have been pretty constantly working on a new film or getting out into the conventions. How is the pandemic slow down of every thing treating you. Have you gone nuts yet? 

 Church: For a good while there I  was averaging 2-3 features a year. I did 2 features last year, but slowing down might be a good thing for a bit. I'm not going too crazy, I've been getting outside a lot, which I love. But don't get me wrong , if a good role comes along, I will jump on that sucker asap.

 Riot: Your list of movies differ a lot. At first to some people they may look similar in aesthetic by the wild covers and titles like Frankenstein Created Bikers to Amazon Hot Box to Space Babes from Outer Space or Plankface but really the aesthetic and tone of each of these movies are very different. From boing sound effect like comedy to legit dark and uncomfortable horror (shockingly Plank face is very not the boing type of movie). Your filmography looks like a 42nd street trailer reel come to life. Is there a genre you enjoy being involved with the most and in fact what do you feel is your milestone role at this point?

 Church: I love so many of these creative and wonderful projects I've been so lucky to be able to be involved in. If I am sent an unimaginative script, I simply don't accept the role. The genre I think I love , and have always loved the most, is ridiculous off the wall comedy. My favorite movie of all time is Better Off Dead if that tells you anything. But jumping into horror first, I haven't been able to do a lot of that. I would love more comedic experience. I think my role in Amazon Hot Box has the best of both, which I loved. I have definitely done a LOT of very uncomfortably graphic horror, therefore I feel like I've really gotten good at that. Which is why I think my role in The Bad Man came at just the right time. I think it is my best work to date. When I read the script, it was all I could think about. I think we waited 2 or 3 years, and I was chomping at the bit for it by the time we were filming. 

 Riot: When you started acting did you have plans to not be as involved in the indie genre film world or was this the plan? I find a lot of people the low budget genre that made it a real career often tell me they just fell into it more than planned it.

 Church: When I first started,  my plans were only to have fun with it. I didn't take it seriously at all. But after a couple of projects, and especially when I started getting into the films that I felt were artistic and sort of passion project films , I became almost obsessed with doing this as many times as I possibly could. Not only is the finished product typically something I'm proud of in the end, but the process itself is magical every time. On top of that, when working with all kinds of other crews and actors , it can also be very different every time. I'm obsessed with it, and I always will be.

 Riot: Lots of female directors on the rise but I feel the small produced exploitation, dare I say B movie genre, does not have enough. With your passion for the projects you are involved with do you feel you would like to try you're hand at directing? Church: I'm actually not interested in directing outside of helping to direct actors if my assistance is needed on set. Working so closely with my husband Brian while he's worked on several films, I don't think that's for me at all. As we know , when you are "directing" an indie feature , you are pretty much doing everything else as well. Brian writes his scores, edits, casts , you name it. I love doing set design, props, fx, anything that an art department would do, and acting. I'm satisfied with that. I'm not interested in juggling 1000 hats, at least not right now.

 Riot: We love gross and rude stuff and the movies you are in don’t seem to worry about holding back on that. When you first read a script has been many times you said "oh hell no that is not for me?" or are you the kind of pushing to dare everyone to go for even more? 

 Church: Oh, I've definetly turned down roles because the content was off the charts. I've also done a lot of really fucked up things in a lot of really fucked up movies. BUT, the difference is this. Writing shock for shock' s sake doesn't interest me. It always seems stupid and hokey. Shock for the sake of a gripping story, or script , that interests me. Whether it's idiotically funny, heart wrenching , etc. , you don't have a good movie without a good story. 

 Riot: We all loved Jessie's Super Normal Regular Average Day and I hope to see you rapping again but how do you feel about that kind of story telling. The trippy style and wild concepts. Even an action movie like Time to Kill is not told in a mainstream way at all. Kudos to Brian Williams in directing both but you definitely play very different roles and styles. Is there a style you liked to try next or in general what is the dream role you would like to try? 

 Church: Brian has a unique brain. I think a lot of his stories have a lot to do with music. He has a wonderful visual style and a great passion for music, and it shows. His scripts have layers and mean different things to different people, and I think that's very cool. I always tell people my dream role is as a raging alcoholic, just crashing into tables like Chris Farley and making outrageous claims. I am completely serious.  I want more extreme character roles. Challenge me.

Riot:  Thanks again for taking the time with to answer. I hope the world gets back in order soon so we can see more, looking forward to Johnny Z.If you follow Ellie on any social networking you will see how passionate and up front she is about promoting her work, which is why I brought up the directing question knowing that several of her projects are close to her and her family.I also know Ellie is as much of a fan of Tubitv as I am so check out many of her films there. Also Cultnetwork.com has some titles like Amazon Hot Box (a jungle prison homage) . Others available on dvd and well worth it.

[arolla-pine]

No room to swing a Cat? - p.3

(3) – Balconies, balconies

Marinette closed the door to her bedroom with a sigh of relief. That dinner had been a nightmare. Alya was unbearable! All that questioning her (about Cat Noir) and Adrien (about her) was so obvious, that only a complete idiot wouldn’t figure out what that was about. Luckily, Nino stopped his girlfriend finally and they could finish their pizza.

Yet, the atmosphere remained tense till the end of the meal. Adrien didn’t say a word for all this time, then he muttered something about finishing a script before tomorrow and disappeared in his bedroom. Alya was so satisfied with her matchmaking progress that she let Nino take her to their room right after the dinner. Marinette was the one who stayed with a pile of dirty dishes.

She sighed and cleaned up. At least this she could do to thank them for hosting her so unexpectedly.

When she finished, she could go back to her room. ‘Her room’… Right… She didn’t feel it was her place. She knew it was temporary. As soon as she got confirmation her house was safe, she’d go back there. There was her room. Really hers. If only she could ever go back there…

She shuddered when she remembered the moment when the floor had shaken under her feet. Tikki immediately warned her, so Marinette took some most important things to her backpack and ran out on the balcony. She was about to transform when suddenly Cat Noir appeared just right next to her.

“Long time no see, Purrincess…” he greeted her.

“Sorry Cat, it’s not a good moment for small talk.” she muttered.

“Bad timing?” he asked, and she heard a hint of resentment.

“Actually… It’s possible that my house will fall any minu…” she began but didn’t finish, because he took her in his arms immediately and jumped on a neighbouring balcony.

She remembered that balcony… It was here, where Cat Noir had given her a rose and accepted her rejection. At that moment she discovered how important she was for him. As Ladybug, of course. As Marinette she was only a civilian who needed his rescue all the time. Despite the fact he kept calling her ‘Princess’…

Cat Noir put her down and they both looked at Marinette’s house.

“Are you sure it was going to fall?” he asked.

“If it was a movie, the house would collapse right now.” she muttered, and he laughed.

“How did you know something was wrong?”

Marinette glanced at him unsure. She couldn’t tell him that Tikki had told her about the danger. After so many years of keeping her kwami secret she probably wouldn’t be able to talk about her openly.

“It was like a quake. I wasn’t thinking. I just reacted by instinct.”

“Which was very wise, Princess. I wouldn’t like to drag you from under the ruins.”

“Yeah, I don’t like this scenario either.”

“And your parents? Should I go back for them?”

“They’re gone. I mean they’re away…” she explained.

“Where?”

“It was like two weeks ago when my mom answered a phone after which she had to leave for China. My dad was required there too. I have no idea what’s going on, because they didn’t want to tell me. Probably some heritage stuff… I don’t know my Chinese family too well…”

“And you’ve lived on your own?”

“What’s the challenge in it, Cat Noir?” she laughed. “I’m an adult now. I should be able to live on my own!”

“Oh, right… Stupid question…” he admitted embarrassed. “What did you do with the bakery?”

“It’s been closed for a while. Now I’ll have to extend the shutdown because of that quake. On the other hand… It’s still standing…” Marinette stated, observing the building.

“So, what’s your plan?”

“I have no plans. I’ve started thinking that I escaped too rashly. I panicked. Maybe I should go back?”

“No!” he protested immediately. “Just wait a few days. Call some experts. They’ll assess the risk.”

“What about me? Am I supposed to sleep right here? On the balcony?” she asked ironically, so Cat Noir looked at her meaningfully.

“Maybe you have some friends you can stay with?” he suggested.

“My best friend and her boyfriend have an apartment in the city.” she replied after a while. “Maybe they can give me shelter…”

“Call her now. I’ll take you there.”

Without waiting for her reaction he took her again in his arms. Before she reached for her phone and called Alya, they were already halfway to her friends’ apartment. She didn’t even notice that Cat Noir went in the right direction without knowing the address…

And that was how she got into this whole situation. Without a plan. Yet, with the major complication behind a thin wall…

No room to swing a Cat? p.2  <-  Previous part |  Next part  ->  No room to swing a Cat? p.4

Start reading from the beginning

The MariChat story for the MariCat May 2019.

@marichatmay

[sturlsons]

french in 1.5 years anon

Kinda random but I just found out that I’ll be required to be intermediate/advanced in French by the next 1.5 years; ALL I KNOW IS THAT MEIRDE IS A BAD BAD WORD! Idk if you’re a native speaker but I was wondering if you could provide me of any good French language resources (or language in general since I’ll be needing to learn Arabic soon as well), and like tips for language learning and how to go about it? Sorry to bother you haha this is MY stress but I appreciate any help! Have a great day!

HEY. so i really fucking dropped the ball on this one, i’m sorry. 2019 has been one health fiasco after another (or more like the same fiasco again and again) and i kept telling myself i want to sit down and make a proper post for this, until i realised that that’s just never going to happen given the way things are rn. and i’d rather give you a quickly-written post which is actually helpful than never write that perfect bullet-pointed one. 

first of all, i’ve been in your EXACT position (so no, i’m not a native speaker) except i had about...six months to go from je m’appelle teesta to voyez-vous, le problème qui se cache derrière tout ça n’est pas le manque de respect mais la personne dont il s’agit or whatever. i was like, i can so do this. (spoiler: i didn’t, because i was 18 and overconfident and stupid and didn’t actually know how to learn a language.) GOOD NEWS: having learned 3 more foreign languages since then, i am now REALLY GOOD at learning languages REALLY FAST. 1.5 years is a good amount of time, so don’t stress.

i’m going to go generic on this, with some extra tips about french since i speak it, unlike arabic. 

first thing, that typical thing everyone hates to hear but knows is coming from the mouth of an accomplished person (pat on my back) in any field whatsoever: you’re going to have to work really hard and practice like fuck. 

there’s just nothing else that can replace it. i’ve filled up notebooks and notebooks with japanese verb conjugations, once i did like 1800 of them in one sitting. but you better believe that a bitch will never forget those now. resign yourself to putting in at least three hours of your day to this until you get to the level you need. (and three hours is...kind. at my peak i was literally reading through french dictionaries at the library, 10 AM - 8 PM. i treated it like a workday.)

now, what you need to establish is: are you a hands-on learner or a digital one. 

i don’t really care for all the auditory learner and visual learner stuff, i don’t know about anyone else but i personally used those as excuses to avoid certain exercises. unless you have actual disabilities preventing you from accessing certain methods of learning, you can train yourself into anything. it’s a matter of practice. i could barely understand a new song without reading its lyrics first, now i eat up podcasts. 

SO. the question here is different. a hands-on learner, like i used to be more or less throughout my bachelor’s, is someone who absolutely cannot retain information unless they’ve written it down BY HAND at least once. pen and paper. (i’m still like this but i’ve learned to combine it with digital methods to go faster.) if this isn’t a hurdle for you, congratulations. your process is going to go that much faster, at least for french. (you’ll have to spend hours practicing your written arabic however, if you’re not familiar with the script.) 

now, if you’re a hands-on learner, you need to add an extra hour to your daily time. no matter how fast you write, you will take that time. and you cannot shorthand your way into languages. you need to understand how french is spelt, what accents it uses, that they put a space before exclamation points, question marks, and semicolons. (side tip: learn the IPA. it will be useful to you forever in language learning, at least for the romance languages.) i’m not gonna teach you how to make notes since i’ve never benefitted from copying someone else’s style, so if you don’t have a set method start establishing that. you need regularity and rhythm when you learn a language. my grammar notes look the same regardless of the language. i don’t have my french ones since it’s been years and i didn’t take good ones then anyway, but here’s my japanese and russian stuff. 

JAPANESE NOTES // RUSSIAN NOTES

now, it bears mentioning that these notes are NOT the notes i take when i don’t know shit. these are final level notes. they’re brief, idiosyncratic, and only reminders. something to refer to when i’m revising and suddenly forget a rule. the first notes i make are much more elaborate, whether they’re pretty or not. i’ve gradually lost the fucks i had about really going ham on academics so my russian notes are very messy, but my japanese ones from back in the day are magnificent. here’s a look. during lesson one i realised that japanese and my mother tongue, gujarati, are syntaxically similar as shit, and i started taking notes with references in gujarati. it sped up my learning process 2x while my french classmates were still going “BUT WHY IS IT LIKE THAT”. 

PRACTICAL GRAMMAR // THEORETICAL GRAMMAR

if you plan to learn more languages in the future, this will be so valuable. sometimes a phrase i learn in russian doesn’t make sense in its french explanation, but a phrase in english might use the same logic. bam, put down the translation in english then. you get what i’m saying? the more languages you learn, the easier it gets to learn languages. 

now if you’re a digital learner, i’ve got great news for you. duolingo and anki are your best friends. duolingo’s memed to hell and has a system that might not work for everyone, but they’ll do the brunt work of compiling grammar notes for you in the beginnings/ends of their lessons. note those down and transform them into anki flashcards, and you can learn grammar concepts without doing 20 exercises. (do those exercises if you can, though, nothing beats mindless practice.) now anki is an intimidating-looking but actually super intuitive app that basically builds digital flashcards for you and shows them to you in a rhythm based on your own learning speed. it’ll show you the front of a card, let’s say merde. you say the english translation out loud, shit, and hit enter. correct! was that easy? anki’ll show it to you in 10 minutes. hard? it’ll show you in 1 minute. super easy? merde won’t come up again until tomorrow. eventually you get so good at it that you can bury a card for 2 months. anki will also show you the same cards reversed, which is harder but trains you better. you’ll see shit and have to remember what it’s called in french, which is more difficult than you’d think it is. 

you can use anki for more than just vocab, like i mentioned. it’s a little tricky learning to convert grammar concepts into front/back flashcards, but you can do it. for example, here’s a sample of one of my russian grammar cards: 

front ^^

back once i hit enter^^

see? not that difficult. now don’t be an idiot like me who manually entered every single flashcard into anki. you can find pre-made packages online (but you can’t guarantee they’ll be correct) or you can make your own without killing your fingers. what you wanna do is open up a spreadsheet and make two columns, A for front of the card and B for back. it’ll look like this:

then you’re gonna save that spreadsheet as a .CVS (comma separated values) and import that into anki. bam, your flashcards are made for you with half the effort. there’s also a script floating around somewhere to make excel translate words automatically for you, but i don’t recommend that unless they’re really easy words. google translate can fuck up. reverso is your friend. 

you need to review your anki cards every day. it’ll take less and less time as you go along. i can review 300 russian cards in 15 minutes now. but you need to keep the rhythm going. download ankiapp and sync your cards, review them on commutes or in the hallway or whatever. trust me, it’s magic. 

apart from this, if a traditional textbook helps, go for that. i’ve always used textbooks and workbooks, more as supports than as principal methods, but it does help. it’s structured and organised and these people know how to train you. bescherelle is a good go-to for french. 

media is always a great way of immersion too, until you get to the country itself. it’ll show you how french people speak french. when i first came to france i didn’t have that experience and even though i spoke an arguably decent amount of french when i got here, it was like, if this is french then what the fuck was i learning in high school. if you like watching movies this is your chance. watch the classics first so that you can get an idea of french pop culture. amélie (though the pop culture aspect here is about shitting on it) and les intouchables, for starters. watch your favourite films, first subbed, then subbed and dubbed, then just dubbed. i watched all ten seasons of friends with french subs, it was wild. with music you want to start off with some indie-ish singers since they will universally sing softer and slower, making things easier to understand than idk, la tribu de dana. (if you’re into bts there’s a hilarious video of their baepsae choreo set to la tribu de dana.) anyway - angèle, cœur de pirate, céline dion, fréro delavega, uhhh that fucking french sufjan stevens. what’s his name. VIANNEY. don’t fucking listen to biglo and oli or like, fatal bazooka right away. you will not understand shit. i barely understand it. white people are wild. ooh listen to stromae. orelsan too, he’s a rapper but he has a relatively clean diction imo. he also sang the french opening for OPM. they call him orelsan-san in japan.

last but not the least: if you have the opportunity to interact in french with people, DO IT. native speakers will do their best to help you and be kind about it. people who learned french might sometimes be assholes from experience. it’s a whole superiority complex thing, and very hypocritical. anyway - online or IRL, wherever you can practice your french, do it. it’ll be immensely helpful. there’s nothing like the frustration of not being able to express simple things to get you motivated to get better. do your best to immerse yourself - changing the language on your devices can make a difference too. 

i think that’s all i have and again, i’m sorry for taking this long to finally deliver, thanks for your patience! if you have any specific questions don’t hesitate to hit me up, on anon or not. 

good luck - it’s not going to be the easiest but nothing is as gratifying as beginning to understand the workings of a language. you’re gonna love it!

[dabble-writes]

Death’s Bride--(6)

| Prologue | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |

Pairing:

Namjoon/Reader

Summary:

You are a Seer. What is a Seer? A Seer is someone whose sixth sense is stronger than most people’s and can see Death. You did not want to be one, you just want to be normal—yet what happens when Death comes for you? No, not for you to die—for you to be his bride.

*Based on a novel I wrote before in Wattpad by the same title*

Tags:

Romance, Fantasy, Angst

Warnings:

Violence

CHAPTER 6: REVELATIONS

“Did he believe you?”, Jisoo asked you when you exited Namjoon’s office.

“I don’t know,” You said honestly, “He seemed to, but he looked unconcerned about the death threat. Maybe that’s just a thing with being ‘death’…”

“So what are we going to do?”

“I don’t know.” You said in frustration, your mind still reeling from all that happened in that office.

“So we’re just going to leave it? So that Death would die?” Jisoo asked.

“I don’t know!”, you cried, very agitated.

Although he doesn’t love me, I would still do anything to protect him.

“I love him.” You said in realization.

Jisoo turned to you, “What?”

“I love Namjoon, I have to save him.”

“How will you do that?” Jisoo asked curiously.

You entered your room and your eyes landed on your swords.

If Jin is alive, he will continue to pursue Namjoon, a voice in your head said; it was right.

You knew then that if you wanted to save Namjoon’s existence, it would have to be you that does something. You picked up the swords. As you stared at the swords in your hands, you turned to Jisoo, a little doubtful.

“Do you think I’m doing the right thing?”. You frowned.

“You saw the noted,” Jisoo answered, “He must be stopped.”

You nodded, Jisoo is right, “Take me to his office.”

You followed Jisoo, taking long, deliberate steps. It felt strange, as if you were in a dream and not quite in control of your actions; like you were following some script. You knocked on Jin’s door.

“Come on, Jin, I know you’re in there!” You called out.

The door opened and Jin stepped out.

“Y/N? What a pleasant surprise, what are you doing here? And why are you carrying swords?”

“I am here to challenge you to a duel.”

He looked puzzled, “How—?”

You tossed one of the swords to him and, while he caught it, Jin gave you a look of surprise.

“Draw.”

“Wha—?”

You lunged your sword at Jin and he moved his sword to block it, which made the swords clash.

“Y/N, are you mad? Please tell me what’s wrong.” Jin said as he blocked another attack.

“You! You are the problem!” You answered with narrowed eyes as you clashed swords again.

“Let’s just talk like civilized people, we don’t have to fight.” Jin said as he ducked to avoid my strike.

“Oh, kidnapping people is very civilized,” you answered sarcastically as your sword nipped his arm, which caused him to bleed a little.

“God dammit woman!” He cursed and rose his sword to block yet another blow, “Where did you learn to fight?”

“A very good friend of mine.” You replied, “I think you know her. I believe her name is…LE.”

“LE? You saw her?”, Jin looked very surprised.

“Yes.” You said, faking a move and going the other way. Jin jumped out of the way in time, only to be scratched yet again on his other arm.

He grunted, “Yup, that’s definitely LE’s doing.”

You continued to fight and Jin managed to give you a few scratches as well, but nothing major.

Jin tried to talk to you again.

“Okay, I know that kidnapping you doesn’t look good on my part—”

“Oh please, there’s no accident in kidnapping me. You explained it quite clearly.” You said, cornering him unto the wall.

“You don’t understand—”

“There’s no need to understand. I understand your desire to have power, but I cannot let you take away Namjoon’s life.”

You twirled your sword around his and Jin’s sword clanked onto the floor. Jin raised his hands to protect himself, like it would do any good against your sword.

“Y/N!”

It was another voice, but you were to concentrated on Jin in front of you to pay it any mind.

LE’s #1 Rule: Don’t take your eyes from the prize.

“Y/N, please—!”

Before you could regret your decision, you thrust the sword into Jin’s chest.”

“Y/N, no!”

Startled, you let go of the sword and turned to see Namjoon running towards you. You looked back at the blood oozing from the wound and Jin’s body slumped on the floor, his eyes unfocused. You stepped back and realized what you had done.

It was like you woke up from a trance, oh crap, what happened to me?

Namjoon rushed past you to Jin and knelt next to his body. He grabbed the sword and pulled it out, more blood seeping out; he ripped some of his shirt and applied pressure unto the wound.

“What have you done, Y/N?” He growled and you gulped, barely able to form words.

“H-he was a spy, and he wanted to k-kill you so—”

“Idiot!” Namjoon hissed, “He was never a spy or was going to kill me.”

“How can you—?”

“Because he was working for me.” Namjoon spat out, “He was my spy so we could find the leader.”

“So he was a double…oh god.” You covered your hand over your mouth in horror and tears began to spill, “I didn’t mean—”

“That’s why I told you to let me handle it! Now his cover is blown and we don’t know who the real leader is.”

You sobbed, “I’m sorry, I—”

Namjoon turned away from you and tended to Jin’s wound, “Just go to your room.”

“But—”

“Go to your room, you did enough damage.” His tone was hard and you knew at that moment that he hated you.

You ran to your room, tears running without restraint down your face.

“How could I be so stupid?” You sobbed into your pillow.

“It’s okay, everyone makes mistakes.” Jisoo was seated next to you as she rubbed your back and tried to comfort you.

“They don’t murder people!” You wailed.

“You didn’t murder anyone, Y/N.”

“How’d you know? Jin looked really bad when I left.”

You pictured the blood oozing from his wound again and it took all your willpower to not throw up.

“Y/N, Jin isn’t human and we aren’t on Earth.”

“Right.” You said and found some comfort that you didn’t—well more like couldn’t—murder him, “But it was the thought, the intention. I was ready to kill Jin, and that’s what scares me.”

What’s wrong with me?, you thought, it’s as if some force compelled me to do so. Am I going crazy?

You winced as you remembered the bloody scene again.

“Sometimes we can’t control our animal instincts.” Jisoo said soothingly.

That was beyond animal instincts though, you thought miserably.

“Mind over matter, Jisoo, mind over matter.” You cried and buried your face into your now soggy pillow.

“We can’t always be perfect.”, Jisoo reminded you and you sighed.

Is it too much to ask to not be a murderer?

“Do you want some hot cocoa? It might help you calm down.”

You looked at her and silently accepted the mug. You took a small sip and felt a little better as the sweet, hot liquid went down your throat.

“Still, it makes you wonder who the real crook is.” Jisoo said and you stared at her; you didn’t consider that, in all your turmoil.

“You’re right. The real traitor is out there, running free. Who knows what he’ll be planning next.”

You took another sip but decided you didn’t want anymore; you gave Jisoo back the mug.

“Well don’t worry, we’ll catch him before he does any more damage.” Jisoo tried to reassure you; she placed the mug on the nightstand next to your bed.

“I hope so.” You said and sank down into your pillow again as hot tears rolled down your face.

“Do you want some privacy?”, Jisoo asked softly.

“Yes, you can leave now. I want to be by myself.” You tried to say without breaking your voice; you think you failed.

Jisoo nodded and left the room, closing the door behind her.

Your crying session seemed to have taken a toll on you because you felt yourself become very tired.

You really are an idiot, Y/N, you thought bitterly, you don’t deserve to live. You royally screwed up.

With those thoughts in your mind, you drifted off into an uneasy sleep.

You groaned as you woke up.

Damn, I hate crying myself to sleep.

You forced yourself to sit up and soon realized that you were not in the comfort of your room. Instead, you sat on the cold stone floor in a damp cell. You felt a wave of de ja vu.

Okay, you thought, trying hard not panic, this doesn’t look good at all. Someone must have kidnapped me when I fell asleep.

But how?

Hello, stupid, it’s all your fault. You hurt Jin, causing Namjoon to be distracted, which gave the kidnapper the opportunity to kidnap you.

You wondered how you didn’t wake up while they kidnapped you; you weren’t such a heavy sleeper.

No sooner did this thought came into your mind did a masked figure emerged from the shadows and walked up to your cell.

“So there she is, the perfect little bride.”

You couldn’t recognize his voice because it was so muffled from the mask; the figure did seem to be a bit on the short side though.

“Who are you?”, you asked.

“Is that important?”, you could hear the contempt in his voice.

“Maybe.”

“Well, too bad, I guess you’ll die of anticipation. It’ll just be easier for me.”

Is this guy serious? Is he attempting to make a joke?

“Wow, that was so funny I forgot to laugh.” You said dryly.

“You are so obnoxious.” The figure said as you heard the jingle of keys.

He opened and closed the door behind him.

Shit, he’s right in front of me. This may be the time to panic. No, wait, just calm down Y/N, You don’t want to give him the satisfaction of seeing you scared.

“What do you want?” You asked as you tried to appear braver than what you felt.

“Hm…let me think…” the masked figure said and took a step closer to you, “You, Y/N, are perfect bait and a wonderful addition to my little plan.”

“Bait?” You felt sick, “You mean you expect Namjoon to come for me?”

Seriously?, you thought, Bait? How did I got reduced to some cliché damsel in distress? Oh right, when I stabbed Jin and let myself get kidnapped. This day just keeps getting better.

“You are his bride, it is his fate to protect and be with you.”

He saw your hurt look and laughed a cruel laugh.

“That is rich! You actually think you mean something more to him than the prophecy? Wake up, girl, if you haven’t noticed by now Death cannot feel any emotions; he doesn’t care about you.”

You felt your eyes get watery as you heard those bitter truths spat at you. Don’t cry, Y/N, don’t cry dammit. You know this already, don’t let this jerk get to you.

You forced yourself to control your breathing and glared at the figure, “You don’t know anything. Frankly, I don’t see how that’s any of your business; you just want to kill him, so why bother with me if he doesn’t care about me?”

“You have such a haughty tone for someone who’s going to die. Who’s the prisoner here?”

You rolled your eyes, “Why are you asking that question if we both know? Do you want me to say it’s you?”

He grabbed your chin and pulled you up, which caused you to gasp in pain.

“Don’t disrespect me.” He murmured in your ear, which caused chills to go down your spine. His nails dug into your skin painfully and you bit your lip to prevent yourself from gasping in pain again.

“I-I thought I was bait. Aren’t you not supposed to hurt me?”

He laughed, “I never said that,” and harshly let go of your chin. You sank back into the floor, coughing.

This guy may just kill me, he seems that crazy, you thought and felt a new wave of fear.

“You are such a weakling.” The figure said and laughed a cruel laugh that echoed off the walls; you flinched at the sound.

He stopped and turned to you, “You disgust me.”

You glared at him as you struggled to sit up, “Not as much as you disgust me.”

Instead of getting mad, he chuckled, “You are so cute, trying to act all tough.”

“I’m glad your amusement is at my expense.” You snapped and he stopped chuckling.

“Another thing I hate about you, you have an answer to everything. You just can’t shut up, can you?”

“Who are you?” You asked him again, quite annoyed that he talked like he knew you or something. Or maybe he does. But who can he be then if not Jin?

“It doesn’t matter to you who I am, you will die anyway.”

“Die?”

He saw that you started to get up again and kicked you so that you lost your balance and fell down again; you grunted in pain as you clutched your stomach.

“Yes, die. You didn’t think you’ll come out this alive? I’ll kill you and when Death comes looking for you I’ll just kill him.”

“Y-you do know that you’ll never get away with this; Namjoon is much more powerful than you could ever hope to be.”

“Ah, but you forget that I have this in my possession.”

He reached inside his cloak and pulled out an ornate dagger.

“Tell me, Y/N, do you know what kind of dagger this is?”

“A dagger that can cause a lot of pain?, You guessed.

The figure kicked you again and you grunted again in pain, “You think you’re so funny. And smart. Of course this causes a lot of pain—but much more pain than a regular dagger.”

You bit back a sarcastic comment because you realized a person who seemed to despise you and Namjoon very much held a deadly weapon not so far away from you.

“Normal daggers kill your body, so your soul still lives and Death faithfully picks it up. This dagger was especially made to kill not only the body, but the soul.”

Your eyes widened, “Is that the--?”

“Yes, the Holy Dagger. You’ll never get to see Death ever again. How do you like being separated from the one you love?”

“How do you know I love Namjoon?”, you asked suspiciously.

“Despite it being so obvious…” The figure took his mask off. No…more like the figure took her mask off.

“You bitch.”, you growled; you couldn’t believe what you saw.

“Surprise.” Jisoo smiled sweetly at you, but her eyes showed the opposite.

Hate.

Jisoo smiled at you wickedly as she regarded the dagger she held, “Surprised?”

You know, I was right; no one suspects the maid.

“I can’t say that I’m not, but I’ve learned that nobody is what they seem.”

You remembered Jin and cringed.

Jisoo narrowed her eyes at you, “You got that right.” She continued to play with the dagger, as if it was a plastic spork instead of a deadly weapon.

“Why?” you asked, still unable to comprehend her motive.

That caused Jisoo to pause, “You can blame it all on God.”

“What?”

God? Seriously? You knew some people were angry at God, but this is taking it to another level. Yup, defiantly asylum-worthy.

“Let me explain, I lied when I said I never met my love after I died, I did and was so happy. I thought we could be together, I thought we could love each other.

“Turns out, he learned to move on with his life after I died. He even became very interested in religion and ‘found himself’ with God; he became a goddamn priest.

“When I was reunited with him, he wasn’t as enthusiastic as me. He said ‘I’m sorry, Jisoo, my only love right now is with God. I am devoted only to him’. I got so angry and screamed at him, cursed at him, tried to make him feel guilt. He just gave me a polite smile, patted me on the shoulder like some child, and said he’d pray for me.”

She looked like she was about to cry and held the dagger so tightly, her knuckles were white.

“I became angry at God. He stole my one true love, my true love! We were meant to be together. Forever.”

Jisoo glared up at the ceiling, like if God was up there.

“How did that turn into killing Namjoon and me?”, you asked, quite puzzled, and she glared at you.

“Let me finish! For the longest time I just moped about and became really whiny. Then I heard a voice that said that I should take revenge on God and the way to do so will be to eliminate Death, this special being he created.”

“You’re crazy—”

You then paused as you remembered what happened earlier with Jin. A voice like Jisoo described convinced you to kill Jin. Now you know it didn’t excuse your actions, since it was still your choice, but something or someone did put the seed into your mind; you may be hot-blooded but you’re no murderer.

“I know what you mean, I think I heard that voice too.” You said softly and looked around you as if the suspicious voice can hear you now.

Are we both crazy or is there some external force manipulating us?

Jisoo didn’t hear you, she was too busy muttering to herself angrily; it was almost as if she was arguing with herself. You saw her become increasingly agitated and knew if you didn’t do something quickly, you would be worst than dead. You couldn’t wait around until Namjoon realizes you were gone.

Jisoo was still having her internal battle, so you racked your brains on what you can do.

Well my hands and feet are bound, so it’ll be hard to defend myself or escape. I should make it my priority to try and get out of them. You then remembered the nail filer you had put in your pocket that morning so you could file your nails instead of biting them (a horrible habit you are trying to break).

You quickly thanked your luck (or God? That’d be funny) and subtly put your hand in your pocket, which was tougher than your expected.

“I still don’t see how this solves anything.” You said, trying to distract Jisoo and she looked you, as if she just remembered you were there.

“I will stop both life and death.” Jisoo said and giggled a little.

Okay, you thought, I think she officially entered the crazy train. You finally felt the rugged surface and thanked your lucky stars as you started to slowly pull it out of your pocket.

“Really? I see how you’re stopping death, but how exactly are you stopping life?” You asked, mostly to buy time.

You successfully took the filer from your pocket and started scraping it against the rope, hoping it would break. You weren’t much for prayers, but you quickly did one. Please God, let this work.

Jisoo stepped closer to you and brought her dagger up, “I don’t need to tell you. But look at that, your time is up. Good bye, Y/N, Forever.”

“No, wait!” You cried, desperate to stall her, “If Namjoon doesn’t love me, why would he come? That kind of defeats the purpose of using me as bait.”

Jisoo laughed, “You think the only reason I brought you here was for bait? No, there’s something else.”

She stepped closer and you quickly asked, “What do you mean?”

Almost done…just a little bit more…

“Once you marry Death, you won’t be human anymore.”

“What?” This caused you to stop your actions.

Y/N! Focus!

You went back to cutting ropes.

“Oh, Death didn’t mention that little fact? Guess he doesn’t know then. You’ll end up some weird Being like him. You’ll be…Life.”

What? Life? What does that even mean?

“I don’t believe you, you’re lying.”

Jisoo walked up to you and lifted your chin so you looked at her; she gave you a smile.

“Honey, the delusional one is you. Now I think I’m done talking and ready to get to the good part. Time to disappear, Y/N.”

She then thrust the dagger to your heart.