#she probably had a flashback to when she almost drowned

[starry-skies-writes]

I just realised that when Finnegrin was going to feed Rayla to the Leviathan, half that fear was probably because of the water and the fact that she wouldn’t be able to swim

[kamaluhkhan]

in my head, i play a supercut of us

pairing: conrad fisher x fem!reader

summary: you come back to cousins beach after a few years away. conrad is not particularly happy that you're back - and you aren't particularly thrilled, either. too bad there's a history (chemistry?) neither of you can deny.

warnings: drinking + smoking. lots of plot + flashbacks. there is some mention of injuries, body issues/self esteem (reader is a competitive swimmer), complicated family dynamics (reader is eldest daughter), slight allusion to alcoholism.

a/n: ohhh this turned out much longer than i expected it to be!! honestly i have so many ideas that this will probably become a series. for now please enjoy the summer, childhood friends to lovers to strangers vibes ;)

you still crave lemonade, but the taste doesn't satisfy you as much as it used to. you still crave summer, but sometimes you mean summer, five years ago. (alida nugent)

now — summer, age 18

driving up to the beach house after so many summers have passed, you’re struck with the memory of your first time swimming. 

it was mid-june in cousins; you must have been four years old. you stood on the edge of the pool for an eternity, until your father became impatient and threw you into the deep end. you screamed, imagined your lungs being filled with cold water, drowning in darkness. your neighbour had run over when he heard, and your father had to hold him back from jumping in to save you. instead, your life jacket kept you afloat, and soon enough you were kicking as though it was the most natural thing in the world. you discovered your love of swimming that afternoon and in that your father found his star athlete. you also realized your love for conrad fisher, the boy next door.

your summers in cousins, the friends you’d met here, conrad fisher — these composed your metaphorical lifejacket, once preserving your childhood. you’d taken it off for too long, spent years in the deep end alone, keeping yourself afloat, moving towards a carefully constructed future. now it all started to crumble, and here you were again, a different person; you wondered if the others were different, too. 

it wasn't your first choice to come back to cousins, but you were determined to make the most of it. after unpacking your things, you decide to make your way to the beck house, right next door to your own family’s. 

you knock once, twice, three times. there's no answer, so you figure that everyone is either in town or at the beach. you start to walk away when you hear the front door open. 

"excuse me!" laurel park's voice calls. you turn around, and the shock on laurel's face is clear. "y/n! oh my god, i almost didn't recognize you!" 

"four summers can do that," you note. 

you hear your name from inside the house, and before you know it, belly conklin excitedly runs out and tackles you in a hug. 

"hey, bells," you laugh. you notice how dressed up she is, something that changed from the oversized t-shirts and patterned shorts you remember her always wearing. "cute dress. where are you off to?" 

"oh. there's a high tea at the country club. sort of like an introduction for the debutante season." 

you raise an eyebrow, looking past belly towards laurel. "is this a lemon jelly belly situation?" you’re referring to the code phrases you used to exchange for different situations, depending on different flavours of jelly beans: pear, toasted marshmellow, lemon. it might have been childish (you were kids at the time), but it always worked. more than anyone, you know what it’s like to be pushed into something too quickly, too soon. even after all these years, and even though belly is only two years younger, your instinct is to defend her at all times.

"possibly," laurel sighs. 

"it's not," belly insists, giving her mother a pointed look. "i wanted to try something new this summer, and susannah promised it would be fun." 

the two of you walk back towards the house. when you reach the door, laurel brings you into a tight hug. the three of you walk into the kitchen, and you find yourself taking the seat you had once claimed as your own — a stool at the counter, third from the left. belly settles down next to you, and laurel grabs a pitcher of sweet tea from the fridge while you reach over to take three glasses from the drying rack. 

belly explains more about the debutante season, and mentions that steven and jeremiah are both working at the club this summer. she doesn't get around to what conrad is up to, because laurel suddenly checks her watch, then sighs. 

"i hate to cut this reunion short, but belly, we'd better leave if we want to make that tea of yours." 

"right." belly looks at you with a frown, like she's worried you'll disappear if you're out of sight. "i'll see you later?"

you smile, reaching over to squeeze her hand. "i'll be here all summer," you promise, and belly beams.

"you’re coming to my book party?" laurel asks, though it's more of a statement than a question.

"yeah, sure," you promise, sipping your sweet tea. "i'll see you guys there." 

with one final see you later and another hug from belly, you're left alone in the kitchen. you wonder if the fishers still keep the cereal in the same cabinet; if their cupboards are filled with the same sugary snacks you were never allowed to have, but you and the boys would sneak when the adults weren’t looking. 

"y/n, my little mermaid, is that you?" 

susannah always called you her little mermaid — inspired by your love of swimming, yes, but also that one summer you were convinced that mermaids were real, so you and belly spent hours looking for clues on the beach and painting your nails iridescent turquoise. all the adults scoffed at you, but susannah was the only one who played along, who allowed you to believe that magic was real.

instantly, you rise from your seat and hug susannah.

"you have no idea how happy i am that you're here this summer," susannah whispers. as you break away from your hug, susannah places her hands on your cheeks. she looks happy and healthy, if a little tired. you can't help but think of the years you’d been gone when susannah and her family were dealing with so much. there was only so much connection texts, calls, and emails could provide. to be here now, seeing susannah fisher alive and well? 

it was almost too much.

tears threaten to spill, but you swallow them. instead, you reply: "so am i." and, certainly more than before, you mean it.

“conrad’s out back if you want to come say hi. i’m painting his portrait. he’s been a bit down lately, but if anyone can make him feel better, it’s you.”

you feel your cheeks heat up. you finish the rest of your sweet tea and put your glass in the dishwasher, not quite feeling ready to face conrad — there was a complicated history between the two of you. unresolved tension, hurtful words, that sort of thing.

“i’ll, uh, let you keep painting. i should go get ready for laurel’s book party.”

“alright. i’ll see you there, sweetie.”

“yeah,” you confirm. you start to walk away before hearing susannah’s voice again:

“and, y/n?” you turn around. “i’m so glad you’re home.”

later that night, at laurel's book launch party, you watch conrad pour another glass of wine, and wonder whether or not you should join him. his eyes catch yours from across the room, but he quickly looks away. belly ended up having a date, she'd texted you earlier, and you were roped into a conversation with your mother and susannah before you could find stephen or jeremiah. 

"they grow up so fast," susannah muses. she then wraps an arm around your shoulder. "i can't believe that our eldests are 18! conrad’s off to brown in the fall — how about you, y/n?”

“princeton,” your mother boasts, draining the rest of her cup and grabbing another from a tray passing by. that’s her third glass, by your count. “we were so proud. it’s the best women’s swim team in the country.”

“stanford is a close second,” you interject. “besides, we don’t even know if i can start swimming for real by then.”

you’d broken your ankle a month and a half before. it didn’t need surgery yet and you were out of your cast, but you couldn’t return to your usual level of activity for a while — which meant no training camp, like you’d been going to the past few summers.

“you know, i did always picture you on the west coast,” susannah smiles at you. “all those beaches and sunshine.”

your mother frowns, ignoring susannah. “don’t be ridiculous. if you spend the summer doing your physical therapy and resting, you’ll be back in the water before we know it. your father and i agreed — that’s why you’re here.”

you resist the urge to argue with her and instead block her out as she brags about your siblings getting top prizes in their academic decathalon. the twins were thirteen now and had plans with their friends tonight, sparing them from attending this event. no offence to laurel or susannah, of course, but you’d rather be with your friends.

when you look for conrad once more, you notice that he's been roped into a conversation with laurel and someone who your mom had pointed out as cleveland castillo. even after all these years, you can tell when he needs backup: the impatient tapping of his foot, his eyes searching the room for an out.

after excusing yourself from the conversation, you make your way over to conrad. 

"hey," you greet, nodding at laurel and cleveland. "mind if i borrow this guy? we've got some catching up to do." if either laurel or cleveland said anything more after yes, then you don't hear them, already pulling conrad away.

you lead him to the back corner of the room, near a small couch. neither of you make a move to sit; neither of you say anything. up close, you could see the shadows under his eyes, the creases in between his brows. he was always quiet, the more calm and thoughtful one of the group, but always with soft edges, especially when it came to you. now, quiet could have been replaced with brooding, and all those soft edges seem sharper.

“so,” you start. you grab the wine from conrad’s hand and take a sip. “are you gonna keep ignoring me, or are you gonna welcome me back?”

“when my mom said you were back, i didn’t believe her.” conrad looks at you, his face still. “i wish you hadn’t come back.” 

stung, you take a deep breath. after everything, conrad thought that was the best way to greet you? if cold and closed off was how conrad wanted to act, you could play that game, too.

“fuck you,” is all you say before joining jeremiah and steven on the other side of the room.

steven’s eyes widen once they land on you. "no fucking way. y/n!" steven exclaims. "thought you'd never come back here, man." there’s a joyful undertone to his comment as he smiles. same old steven: always blunt, always laughing. 

"yeah, well, i’m here.”

jeremiah just beams at you, picking you up and spinning you around. 

“jere,” you giggle, half scolding, fully floating.

“sorry, sorry!” he laughs, setting you down. “i just — i can’t believe you’re here. how come you didn’t tell me you were coming?”

“yeah, well.” you shrug. “i thought you liked surprises.”

“well, i do. especially if it involves seeing you.”

"yo, speaking of surprises — what if we ditch this party and surprise belly at the drive-in?" stephen suggests.

you shake your head, though leaving was very tempting. 

"or, instead of ruining your sister's first date, we get some booze, light a fire, and go get drunk on the beach," you suggest.

"oh, i am so down!" jeremiah exclaims. "you've got my vote." 

“hell yeah.” steven grins and throws his arm around your shoulder. "you always did know how to show us a good time."

then — summer, age 11

you had plenty of bonfires before, on the beach with your parents, but that summer marked the first one with just the kids. you begged and begged, and eventually the adults were okay with it since conrad had earned his boy scout badge for fire safety in the spring.

it was the beginning of july, and an unseasonably cold evening — basically, perfect bonfire weather. jeremiah helped susannah make hot chocolate for everyone. belly wanted s'mores, so you had biked with her to the store earlier that day for the ingredients. everyone was stuffing their faces with slightly burnt marshmallows as melted chocolate and graham cracker crumbs decorated your cheeks, and you chased it all down with lukewarm chocolatey liquid. you were kids and it was summer; life was sweet, life was good. 

"conrad," steven announced, turning to the boy who was pushing a marshmallow deeper into the fire. "i dare you to go dunk in the ocean." a grin erupted on steven's face, and in the glow of the fire, he looked like the cheshire cat. 

"no way, man. it's freezing."

you knew the real reason conrad didn't want to go into the ocean. one night the week before, when the parents were out to dinner and the other kids were asleep, you and conrad had stayed up to watch jaws together, having rented it secretly from the local video store. ever since, conrad had been coming up with excuses to not go swimming at the beach. 

"what's the matter, con? you scared?" jeremiah taunted, wearing a similar cheshire grin to steven’s.

"what?" the marshmallow conrad was trying to roast fell into the fire. he huffed, and belly handed him another one. "i'm not scared. it's just freezing."

"come on, man. you’ve gotta do it. besides, there's a fire and hot cocoa here for you when you get back," jeremiah reasoned. ten-year-old jeremiah was never very concerned about following the rules, except when it came to truth or dare. 

"i'm good," conrad snapped.

"aw, i think he's scared," steven laughed.

"i'm not scared —"

"what if i went with you?" you interrupted him. 

"but it's not your dare," belly pointed out as she continued carefully assembling a s'more. nine-year-old belly was competitive, so it was very important to her that the rules of any game were followed. 

"yeah, but if connie —"

"is scared," jeremiah coughed under his breath.

"wants company," you continued, ignoring jeremiah. "then, it'll be more fun, right?" you were a mix between jere and belly: you were competitive, but you didn’t particularly care about following the rules. especially when it came to your friends, even more when it came to conrad.

conrad smiled at you softly. "right." 

reluctantly, jeremiah, belly and steven agreed to the terms of the dare. you removed your beach cover up, and conrad his shirt, leaving you both in your swimsuits, dry even with swimming in the pool a few hours before. you ran to the water, pulling conrad with you. you stopped at the edge of the sand, waves tickling your feet and the light, and warmth, of the bonfire a recent memory. it was much cooler here, closer to the water.

"ready?"

conrad nodded once. "ready." 

hands still clasped together, you jumped into the ocean, leaving the comfort of the shore behind. 

now 

jeremiah finds stale marshmallows in the kitchen and steven makes a bonfire on the stretch of beach between your two houses. you head home to change out of your silk mini skirt and back into denim cutoffs. you switch your cream blouse for a short-sleeved button down, left open over your favourite bralette. when you get back to the beach, the boys have invited some people over, most of whom you don't recognize. 

"here," jeremiah hands you a lukewarm beer, which you accept gratefully. then, he throws an arm around your shoulder. "come on, there's some people i want you to meet." 

jeremiah introduces you to a few guys he works with at the club, and some girls who are doing the deb thing with belly. 

"jeremiah mentioned you’re a swimmer." gigi, one of the debs, smiles, eyeing the way jeremiah leans against you. "what's that like?"

the girls all wait expectantly for you to answer. 

"intense," you decide. you leave it at that. the fire flickers a few feet away, vibrant and alive. 

you want nothing more than to go back to those summer nights when you were kids. you want belly to be looking at the stars for elaborate constellations while jeremiah burns marshmallows to a crisp. you want steven to be laughing and making outrageous, impossible dares. you want the five of you together, huddled around a small fire that conrad had carefully crafted. you want conrad to be okay. 

"i hear that competitive sports can like, really fuck with a girl's self-esteem and body image," gigi continues. you don't necessarily think she means it as an insult, and it's certainly not anything you haven't heard (or felt) before, but you still bristle.

"like i said: intense," you answer cooly. 

"hey, man, when are we gonna get the marshmallows going?" steven suddenly appears, his face slightly flushed. he holds hands with shayla, who, as jeremiah pointed out earlier, steven is dating. 

"in a bit. i asked con to pick up chocolate and graham crackers for s'mores." jeremiah looks around before saying: "speaking of: look who's here!"

jeremiah runs off to meet his brother, while you stay back and take a sip of your beer. 

"looks like he brought nicole, too," steven observes.

who the fuck is nicole? 

nicole, you learn as the group sits around the bonfire and roasts marshmallows, is the girl conrad is either dating or hooking up with. jeremiah isn't quite sure.

the night grows darker. the air is warm with smoke from marshmallows roasting, the smell of burnt sugar dancing around. people start to leave to go to other parties, and soon enough it's only steven, shayla, nicole, conrad, jeremiah, and you. having less people around made it harder for you to ignore conrad. nicole is nice and pleasant to talk to, but you can't help but feel something churn in your stomach when you see how close nicole and conrad are to each other. plus, she's wearing a red sox cap, and you know for a fact that conrad hates the red sox, unless that obviously fundamental part of his personality changed too. 

jeremiah must have noticed, because he suggests a drinking game for the group to ease the tension. 

"never have i ever gotten a tattoo." 

you’re the only one to take a sip of your drink. 

"i meant a real one," steven rolls his eyes. 

"i do have a real tattoo." you remove the button down and point to the left side of your rib cage. 

the others take a closer look, except conrad, of course. he was always an expert at pretending not to care, but so were you. tonight is a prime example: since the bonfire, you hadn't said a word to each other. 

"why a starfish?" nicole asks. she leans further into conrad’s arms.

you look at conrad, briefly, then shrug. "i like the beach." 

the game continues until the fire dies down, and you’re left with a burning sensation from conrad glancing in your direction, at the starfish etched on your skin.

then — summer, age 13

"that's disgusting," steven said, scrunching his nose. 

"no, steven, that's friendship," you replied, just as jeremiah leaned over to take more from your cup, and vice versa.

"right, friendship." belly raised her eyebrow at you, and you rolled your eyes in response. you then decided to take an interest in your formerly white sneakers (after so many summers, they were now decorated with sand and sea water and permanent marker doodles. your mother hated them.)

that summer, belly became convinced that jeremiah had a crush on you. she said that he was absolutely lovestruck and that you were too blinded by years of being best friends with him to notice. jeremiah had made you promise not to tell belly the hilarious irony of the situation — that it was belly he so clearly loved.

"see, steven. friendship can be sweet!" jeremiah grinned, chewing the chunk of bubble gum he had fished from your cup. that was the type of cheesy thing only jeremiah could say and make others laugh unironically. 

years before, when you were just kids, you and jeremiah believed you had solved the most complicated problem in the world. you loved bubble gum ice cream, but hated the bubble gum chunks. jeremiah loved bubble gum chunks, and didn't care if the flavor clashed with his favorite rainbow sherbert because he loved you even more (platonically, of course). 

during the whole interaction, conrad was silent, looking out towards the beach. 

the five of you had walked to the nearest ice cream shop (there was no baskin robbins in cousins, but some nautical themed place with 50 flavors and unlimited toppings). you decided to come back and sit on the porch of the fisher house (where there was a decent amount of shade) rather than on the beach. it was one of the hottest afternoons of the summer, late july, when the sun was at its peak. those who'd been coming to cousins their whole lives knew that being at the beach in such weather was only good for swimming. 

you glanced at conrad, who took another bite (an actual bite) of his chocolate ice cream. he was sitting on the railing instead of the stairs like the rest of you, so you had to crane your neck slightly. you tapped his ankle, which was decorated with a temporary tattoo. the night before, the two of you had found a few left over from when you were kids and, having a sugar rush from too much cream soda and root beer (and maybe stolen sips of sangria when the adults weren't looking), decided it would be hilarious to see if the tattoos still worked. so, conrad had a cartoonish-looking shark on his ankle, and you had a similarly cartoonish-looking starfish on your arm. 

"you okay, connie?" you asked. you only got a nod and a small smile in response. more and more, as summer crept on, conrad would be laughing, loud and lively, one second (exhibit A: using those temporary tattoos the night before was his idea -- we don't want them to go to waste, y/n, he grinned mischievously) and the next he'd be silent, closed off (exhibit B: since you came back from your ice cream excursion, he'd barely said a word). 

even though you couldn't really read minds, you had an aching feeling that you knew what conrad was thinking in that moment, because you’d been thinking it, too: time was passing too quickly. in a few days, it would already be august, and september was just around the corner. the summer - your childhood - was as temporary as yours and conrad’s tattoos: vibrant and saturated, slightly faded, then gone. 

"i wanna go swimming. anyone wanna join me at the beach?" jeremiah suddenly asked. 

"i've gotta pick up the twins from day camp, but i'll try to meet you guys later." you knew that wasn't true though — things were getting more and more tense between your parents, your father storming out angrily after useless arguments and your mother passing out on the couch after one too many glasses of wine. someone needed to watch your siblings, and neither of your parents seemed pressed to find an actual babysitter.

"i'll stay with you," conrad said.

belly and steven took jeremiah up on his offer. once the other three were gone, you stood up. "scooch over." conrad shifted slightly and you went to join him on the railing, your knees practically knocking together. 

"so. did the tattoo help you get over your fear of sharks?" 

conrad took another bite of his ice cream, this time with a giant chunk of chocolate. "i don't fear sharks," he replied. then, he turned to you and shrugged. "i just respect them, you know?"

you bumped your shoulder against conrad's. "right. you respect them so much that you avoid the ocean at all costs." 

conrad smirked. "says the girl who avoids eating on the beach because she's scared of seagulls!" 

you were laughing, teasing each other, not caring that your ice cream was melting, when mr. fisher opened the front door, car keys in hand.

"oh, hey kids. we were wondering where you were."

"we went to scoops ahoy," you explained. you took a bite of your ice cream and resisted the urge to spit it out once you realized that it had a chunk of bubble gum in it. 

"better watch the ice cream, huh, y/n?" mr. fisher said, smiling like he said the funniest thing in the world. he patted his stomach to further his point. "if you want to keep up at those swim meets."

you suddenly froze, mid bite. you cleared your throat and dropped the spoon back in your half-empty cup, suddenly queasy.

"dad," conrad said, not raising his voice, but definitely irritated. "what the actual fuck."

"language, conrad," mr. fisher scolded. without another word, he got in his car and drove away.

"he shouldn't have said that," conrad said instantly.

"it's fine," you replied, too quickly to be true. you set down your ice cream between you and conrad. "it's nothing my own father hasn't said to me."

being a teenage girl was brutal, and competitive swimming amplified that, especially the older you got. there was always someone faster, someone more skilled, someone better. ice cream churned in your stomach at the thought. was your father right: had you wasted your summer, not practicing your technique and stuffing your face with sugary treats? 

conrad picked up your ice cream and handed it to you. he then took the spoon from his own cup, and stated: "fuck dads who are jerks." 

you couldn't help but smile. somehow, he always knew what to say to make you believe that you weren't alone, that things would be okay no matter how fucked up the world was. 

"fuck dads who are jerks," you echoed, raising your spoon.

"and,” conrad paused. he looked at you with gentle eyes. “to always being there for each other."

you smiled at him, heart soaring. "to always being there for each other." 

you clinked your spoons together, and ate your ice cream, and shifted closer so your legs pressed together — and it didn't feel like a temporary promise.

now

you always loved mornings in cousins. the beach was particularly beautiful at sunrise, the water at its most peaceful.

the morning after the bonfire, you need that peacefulness to wash over you. as quietly as you can to avoid waking up the rest of your family, you make a fresh pot of coffee and pour some into your favourite mug. it’s from the rainforest cafe: bright green with a cartoon frog on it. you brought it back from a swim meet in niagara falls when you were 10, and got one for the fishers as well. theirs was orange with a cartoon iguana. conrad would use it all the time; you imagine it collecting dust in the kitchen cupboard now.

you make your way down to the beach, and notice someone already sitting at your usual spot by the water.

conrad doesn’t say anything when you sit next to him. he’s wearing a red hoodie over his clothes from last night, a cigarette tucked behind his ear. he glances at you as you sip your drink. 

“morning,” he whispers.

you shiver, and not just from the cool morning air. you’re reminded of the last time conrad spoke to you so softly, the last time you’d caught an early morning sunrise together. such a contrast to where you are now.

“morning,” you finally reply. 

as the sound of waves fills the silence between you, conrad lights his cigarette and takes a puff. then, he hands it to you. in turn, you offer him your mug. a peace offering — you both accept. the space between you becomes open, comfortable.

“since when do you smoke?” you exhale, letting the smoke warm your lungs. 

conrad takes a long sip of coffee, looking out towards the ocean. “since i quit football.”

“i thought you loved football.”

“i loved it,” conrad answers. he takes another sip, then gives the mug back to you. “i don’t love it anymore.”

you take another drag of the cigarette. your fingers brush against his when you return it to him.

“once you love something, you never really unlove it,” you muse, even though you know exactly what he means — when it comes to sports. 

“don’t misquote spirited away at me,” he laughs, and you can’t help but smile. the first time you'd watch that movie was when you were 8. all the kids crowded into the den of the fisher house on a rainy day. susannah prepared an impressive spread of candy, popcorn, and soda for you all. you drank dr. pepper from a twizzler straw and cried when chihiro reunited with haku.

conrad glances at you and the sunshine highlights his smile, his brown hair, the hazel of his eyes. golden, radiant. 

you shiver again, looking away. before you know it, you feel something draped across your shoulders.

“i’m not sure nicole would like it if i was wearing your hoodie.” you joke, but your words are laced with a bitterness you hope conrad doesn’t catch. unlucky for you, conrad knew you too well. 

“you don’t get to do that,” he snaps.

“do what?”

conrad scoffs. “be jealous.” 

“well, you don’t get to tell me how to feel.”

“so, you are jealous?”

you exhale sharply; you can practically feel the wall between you two reappear.

“it’s too early, con. and i’m too hungover to deal with this.”

there’s nothing more left to say. you get up, throw his hoodie on the sand, and walk back towards your house, the beach and conrad further away with every step you take.

it makes sense that way: you were always the one to leave first.

[umbrellalavender]

My Review of Torchwood: Almost Perfect

So, my friend gave me this book a few months ago (bless her. She’s a sweetheart!) I’m not a big reader of physical books and I’m quite slow when it comes to reading them. In addition, my friend had given me another Doctor Who book for Christmas and I was busy reading that (Feast of the Drowned that took me about 5 months to read).

I was a little hesitant to get into this book. This was the only Torchwood book I had heard of before, and that was from a negative review on Twitter. And reading it, I have to say I completely disagree with them!

This book was amazing! I absolutely loved reading it!

I think the story is very interesting and extremely Torchwood! I loved reading Ianto try to adapt to being a woman. And I was so invested into why everything was the way it was. I didn’t really know who Emma was, yet I was still intrigued with her story and how she fitted in with Torchwood. I know that the main characters weren’t going to die, but I felt tense about whether Rhys and Gwen were going to fine.

And this book is actually funny! There are so many lines that are so random, they make me want to laugh. I had a nightmare trying to stop myself from audibly reacting to it when I was in public.

But the highlight of it all has to be the chapters themselves! The chapters themselves are quite short, which is great considering my attention span is not the best. My only complaint about the chapter sizes is that “Ianto Is Having A Flashback” is 24 pages long. And having gotten used to quite snappy chapters, this was quite a challenging chapter to sit through. The title names though! Chef’s kiss! Some examples are:

Five Rare Times That Ianto Jones Swears

Ianto Is More Important Than Static Cling

Captain Jack Is Available For Children’s Parties

Sergeant Pepper Is A Lonely Heart’s Club Band

Owen Harper Is Still Dead

Ianto Can Ride A Horse Across A Beach Without Fear Or Shame

The Strange Alien Device Is Plotting To Take Over From Jeremy Kyle After This

Mozart Is Sponsored By Cholestria

My biggest complaint about this book would probably be that it is very 2000s. I feel like there are quite a few stereotypes within. And Jack is awkwardly quite sexist to Ianto. Nevertheless, I don’t think this takes away from the book and I still absolutely enjoyed reading it!

Unfortunately, that was the only Torchwood book I had, but I do have like 7 Doctor Who books I mostly found in charity shops!

[firestorm09890]

just some rambling about lcb’s canto v part 3 things vs the source book

It felt like they combined the personalities of Starbuck and Stubb, and then they replaced Stubb’s personality entirely with Flask’s (the third mate), who was always the one described as irritable while Stubb was the jovial one.

Book Stubb was also pretty uncool, despite being so casual. Pip had to be the replacement oarsman in both cases, but the reason Pip’s sanity snapped in the book was because he jumped overboard out of fear once, Stubb told him they’d just leave him behind if he did it again, and then when it happened again, Stubb did leave Pip behind, and those few hours out at sea before the Pequod rescued him were what broke him; here, Stubb saved Pip from a fate worse than death, and then what happened to Stubb after is what broke Pip.

Speaking of Pip, weird choice to make them want to be a landlord. That’sss all I’ll say about that

Also, RIP Tashtego. Constantly got the short end of the harpoon in Moby Dick (basically first to slay a whale on the voyage but Stubb got all the credit, fell into a whale and almost died, saw the White Whale at the same time as Ahab and should’ve been awarded the gold doubloon for it but Ahab insisted he was first) and the trend continues here by giving his incredibly homoerotic moment of being saved from drowning in the whale by Queequeg to Ishmael instead, with him just not showing up at all… actually maybe Tashtego won in this case lol

The flashback with Ishmael going into Ahab’s cabin made me think that they would give her the dilemma of “should I kill her right now in her sleep”, similar to what Starbuck had in the book, but nope.

There’s a huge difference in the way Starbuck butted heads with Ahab in the book vs in Limbus. Book Starbuck definitely had a lot less faith that the captain was steering them right- forget “after we kill the Pallid Whale it’ll all be okay” that Limbus Starbuck thought, no, book Starbuck repeatedly told Ahab to please, turn around, please stop trying to go kill the White Whale, your revenge quest is meaningless because it’s basically just a force of nature and you can’t get revenge on nature, we can just go home, we've had bad omen after bad omen, don’t you see you’re leading us to doom- and he did this from the very beginning all the way til the very end, when they literally saw the beast. However, despite his pleas and disagreements, he did still follow the authority of the captain (can’t have a mutiny when it’s just you who disagrees; can’t shoot a man while he’s sleeping when you have too much of a conscience and a fear of going to hell to justify becoming a murderer) and inevitably helped Ahab get what he wanted. That’s something both Starbucks share.

Overall… it’s probably because they had a different story to tell. They had to make Ahab worse™️ than in the book so everyone surrounding her had to be changed to facilitate the fact that she had such a hold over all of them

The thing with Ahab promising gold coins to the crew (with it being clear to the audience that they’d never get them) was the progression of the book’s singular gold doubloon, which was promised to whomever saw the White Whale first. In the book, it was merely a symbol, with a bunch of different characters attempting to analyze its symbolic meaning in-universe (mostly in an astrological sense) and not really wanting it for monetary reasons (Flask even says that it’s just worth $16 and could buy 960 cigars. of course, that was in 1851, and inflation is one hell of a problem…) Here, that promised money is worth a lot more, both monetarily and as something to keep the crew going.

And then! The cult-like aspects. Kromer had her inquisitors with artificial brainwashing and it’s very stereotypically cult-like, but Ahab’s crew was a lot more accurate to how real-modern-day cults work. The recruitment of Ishmael made that clear. Here, she was at a low point in life, with no idea where she should go, and then boom, Ahab steering her. In Moby Dick Ishmael already wanted to go on a boat, as did every other sailor there. None of them even knew who their captain was until after they’d been out at sea for weeks because Ahab is weird like that. He got all his sailors into a disturbingly powerful fervor one night about the White Whale but for the most part they seemed to be mostly in it for the whales they encountered along the way. Book Ahab even recognized that in order to keep his crew from mutinying, they had to pick up some other whales- and unlike the gold coins keeping the crew motivated in Pequod Town in Limbus, this was an actual, tangible thing. More of a compromise to keep the crew happy than a lie.

Limbus Ahab’s boat was completely Ahab, with desires completely Ahab, completely enrapturing her crew. Book Ahab’s boat was The Pequod, a whaling ship that just so happened to have a monomaniac at the helm. Limbus’s Pequod crew had faith in Ahab until they died by her hands; book Pequod crew eventually recognized how completely fucked up Ahab was and how screwed they were, but to quote the book itself, “their fear of Ahab was greater than their fear of Fate.”

that’s about all the braincells I have for this

[chrysalis-the-butterfly]

How was your Helluva Boss watch?

It was pretty neat! Thanks for asking!

Here's a list of the stuff I liked:

Moxxie and Millie's marriage is cute! I'm a sucker for fictional married couples who are sickeningly adorable and genuinely care for each other rather than arguing all the time.

I think I might have an autistic headcanon for Moxxie? It was the bit where he started infodumping to Millie's parents that did it for me.

There were plenty of lines of dialogue that made me splutter because I wasn't expecting them to be so hilarious.

The part of the interrogation scene where Moxxie intelligently explains why torture is a bad interrogation tactic and Blitzo adds that the demons might enjoy the torture too much and then the agents would have a whole other set of problems on their hands lives in my head rent-free for some reason.

While I'm not sure I want Stolitz to become canon, I will admit that their complicated relationship is interesting to watch. The childhood flashback episode had some cute moments. And I'm fascinated by the changes that Stolas has undergone over the course of the series. I'm glad he's not as creepy as he was at the start.

(I prefer Owling at the Moon over Stolitz, which is probably why I don't want Stolitz to become canon. Imagine if Loona and Octavia started dating and Blitzo and Stolas became the awkward in-laws. I'd like watching that play out!)

Fizzmodeus intrigues me. I wasn't sure about that ship at first, but they do seem to have a cute thing going on. Watching Asmodeus trying to help Fizzarolli after his panic attack was unexpected. I've not really seen stuff like that in the fiction I've encountered.

I came across a Hellaverse crossover fanfic where Angel Dust meets Asmodeus and I thought it was well-written. (You can read it here if you're interested. But given the two main characters are the King of Lust and a porn star, it's very much NSFW, so don't look if you're a minor.)

And here's a list of the stuff I wasn't keen on:

The show was supposed to be about a team of demonic assassins taking out targets on Earth, but it seems to have abandoned that premise rather quickly to focus on exploring side characters and fleshing out the worldbuilding in Hell. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the worldbuilding (certainly more than I would have enjoyed the gory killings) - it just bothers me that the show starts with a premise and then forgets it. At least in Hazbin Hotel, the themes of redemption and second chances are almost always present, even if the Hotel itself isn't getting much focus. By contrast, what does Fizzarolli's clown career have to do with assassinating humans?

The sound mixing on the songs bothered me. Most of the time, the dialogue is loud and clear, but when a song starts, the voices go really quiet for some reason and the instrumentation drowns them out and I can't hear what they're singing. It's as if the show keeps coming down with a bad case of Sonic Adventure 2 sound mixing.

I wish Loona was treated better by the narrative. She seems very underdeveloped to me, and I'd love to see an episode or two focusing on her and giving her time to shine. (And more of her hanging out with Octavia. That'd be neat.)

They got Barrett Wilbert Weed to voice Octavia and they haven't let her sing a song yet?! I've heard her Heathers and Mean Girls stuff! She's a good singer! Don't let her go to waste!

So, as you can see, I do have some quibbles with the series, but overall, I had fun!

I am now finally watching Hazbin Hotel properly (hooray!), and I prefer that show over Helluva Boss. The characters resonate with me more, and the songs stand out to me more. But I still enjoyed checking out Helluva Boss!

[catholicdogxxx]

every single thought i had abt one piece live action

alvida is so hot im praying when she comes back she’ll have the slip slip fruit and still be fat please god.

introducing zoro with baroque works instead of with helmeppo was fucking genius, and mr 7’s redesign is pique. and the gore of zoro killing mr 7? sets a great fucking precedence.

binks brew playing in the background of the flash back where luffy eats his fruit >>>>>

i want a copy of nami’s book as merch

i love the little homage to the original of luffy planning to just fly in

having luffy be there for the scene with helmeppo and rika >>>>

ive said it once ill say it a thousand times how do they manage to make zoro even gayer. ill never get over the whimpering caption with helmeppo just crawling on the ground.

nami girlboss girlslaying even

zoro you cryptic little gay freak “then he owes me money” “didnt wanna make a mess”

im mad they didnt make captain morgan tell helmeppo he didnt beat him as a kid is bc he’s too pathetic to hit.

captain “we should be working for the same team” morgan. bro you are an elder fag preying on a young gay man. THE SHOULDER TOUCH???

roronoa “i kinda got my own thing going on” zoro

“7 days? i could catch up on my sleep”

“when i get down from here, you’ll be the one begging.” MY GOD YOU FAG

tag urself im the bead of sweat in zoros eyebrow

“get lost”

“i am.. lost”

“heyhey no. dont do that.”

my god nami’s actress is perfect the body language, tone of voice, its so accurate to how she was pre joining strawhats. and GOD her facial expressions in her first fight scene w luffy…

zoro almost dipping then deciding he wants to fight lmao i love it

“arent you that drunk from the bar?”

“glad i made an impression.”

morgan you didnt capture shit

inaki did a great job making luffy still look animated.

zoro cutting helmeppos hair is so fucking funny

garp knew exactly who it was when he first got that call

buggy youre sitting like SUCH a slut

buggy loves talking abt shanks like he’s an ex boyfriend

i wanna see what else buggy can do

zoro definitely had sex with cabaji and then killed his brother

i could watch yasopp shoot people all day

shanks casting is so well done im obsessed with the fact that none of the characters are the conventionally attractive roblox looking types

also the timing of luffy being drowned and the flashback to shanks saving him… timed perfectly great depiction of ptsd. same thing with zoros flashbacks.

“why gonna rob the place blind?”

“at least a little blurry”

i love the wlw mlm solidarity with nami and zoro, oh my god the scene of them getting dressed and nami picking out a shirt for him??? obsessed.

zoros pink ass drink

FUNKY BAR MIRROR BALL???

“arlonggg babyyyy”

“you dont think she like. like likes me do you?”

i love the way the meowmin twins move when theyre fighting in the stairwell

luffy grinning like a freak through kuros blades :333 and then the fucking thumbs up

luffys look to nami when kaya says they have a ship

damn they really just fucking murked merry

“they do know im the captain right?”

“let them have this one”

“we are” playing while they leave syrup village im obsessed

nami laughing for probably the first time in years at usopp and luffy fighting over who’s the captain

i could write an essay about the fear in garps eyes in that flashback (im going to)

“which way is port?”

“the left!”

“neverrrrrrr!”

“fine ya brat have it yer wae”

garp laughing bc he’s actually invested in his job again

the camera lense while luffy is smelling the baratie is fucking hilarious

“add food to the equation and suddenly he knows how to navigate”

ive said it once i’ll say it a thousand times inaki does a great fucking job making luffy still look animated

ill never get over sanji’s accent its so fucking fan indulgent

the little angry kick after he puts em on the fucking ground

“welcome to our shitty restaurant where the only thing worse than the ambiance is the food. my name is sanji what can i get for you?”

“any drinks one of our signature cocktails to help you choke down your meal?”

“apologies madam didnt see you there. would you care for an apéritif to start?”

sanji is such a freak oh my god i love him

zoro pointing it out is so fan indulgent

zoro grinning like an idiot when nami says “i need a drink”

im obsessed with usopps fishbowl

sanji’s smile talking about the all blue WAHHHH

i love live action sanji cooking

his fucking theme playing oh my god

zoro and nami comparing usopp to a sea slug

“i had friends”

“swords dont count”

“i had one friend”

“hell one more than i have”

zoro you fucking freak

why is he standing like that fucking fag

“because youre my friend you idiot” NAMI WAHHHHHHHH

zeff is so hot omfg

sanji’s desperate baby scream breaks my heart

i really like they went using with the original manga plotline for sanji’s backstory

“id eat both arms and legs to save zoros life”

putting buggy in the bag is so fucking funny

that zoom in on sanji yelling “zeff” what was that

god i love sanji and zeffs fight

zoro waking up scene is fucking adorable

zoro you fucking devoted freak i love you

ill never get over sanji’s theme

“the only thing i wanna hear from you is dinner specials”

baby nami is perfectly cast

BLACK NOJIKO BLACK NOJIKO

buggys body pinned up at arlongs base lmfao

“arlong has bled us dry”

“then find more blood”

i love helmeppo sitting like that lmao

bellemere’s death scene always makes me tear up jesus christ

“i thought itd take a lot more liquor to bring out your mutinous side.”

why was arlongs speech edited like that oh my god

“of course i will” makes me tear up every fucking time

nami drawing her maps in fucking blood is such great symbolism

“you look tired, maybe you should take a break”

“maybe you ought to get back in the kitchen”

“quit screwing around! luffy needs us!”

“you just got here you dont know what luffy needs.”

“i know he needs my cooking.”

“putting two slices of bread together?”

telling buggy to shut up in unison lmao

“im gonna get outta here.” while flipping them off

“fucking clown.”

USOPP EXPLODING STAR U GOAT

“i get it zeff was mean to you boohoo”

“you dont ever badmouth nami.”

“now youve done it.”

god i love taz skylar

“all great fighters call out there finishing moves”

“yeah youre gonna fit in just fine.”

SANJI WANTING TO HUG NAMI AND HER RUNNING PAST LMFAO

“back for seconds must have liked it.”

“at least i dont need 3 swords to prove im a man.”

garp jus beating the shit out of luffy

nami hitting nezumi >>>>>

god i fucking love nami talking at bellemeres grave

“i know what it means to fight for your family.”

luffy’s reaction to his bounty im in love

koby what was that gay ass look you want to kiss luffy so bad dont you

“be a good marine.”

“be a good pirate.”

luffy mimicking his poster

god i love makino

kaya with a different tea looking healthy 😭

luffy’s bounty up under employee of the month

BUGGY AND ALVIDA BUGGY AND ALVIDA BUGGY AND ALVIDA

god i love garp

helmeppo learning to be swordsman :33

“maybe the old chef was right. it id your turn.”

“i can still take you.” not in a fight…

their jolly roger 🥺🥺🥺

[pixeldistractions]

“Charlie Fucking Roseland,” Ingrid said with a giant smile, and then Charlie noticed the woman standing next to him. “You probably don't even remember me. You were like, ten the last time we hung out. Shit, look how tall you got.”

Ingrid. He remembered. For as much as she actually looked like her brother, she’d grown into a surprisingly pretty girl. She was tall now, and strong. The last time Charlie saw her they were both still kids.

Ingrid glanced around. “Where’s Natty?”

That question, again. Everyone asked it so casually, like it was the most natural thing to ask. And he had to answer it over and over and over again, each time like a little dagger probing his heart. It was almost a worst torture than having lost Natty in the first place.

Ian shook his head, but Ingrid didn't stop.

“Awww, did you break up? No way! You guys were like peanut butter and jelly!”

Ian put a finger up. “Iggy, we're not calling it that,” he whispered. “It’s just a break.”

“Oh, sweetie,” Ingrid said and pulled Charlie to her chest, mostly naked, and he remembered being ten when she and Ian were twelve and how she had boobs before any of the other girls his own age, how hers were the first pair of boobs he probably ever noticed. He swallowed hard.

She spoke softly near his ear while patting his shoulder. “Relationships are such a pain, I don't think I know anyone who's made it work. Poor Ian here, too…” She went on some more about old-fashioned family archetypes and monogamy and the patriarchy and evolution and a dozen other things Charlie couldn't even think about because she had him clutched, her breasts squished up against his chest, and she smelled like day-old vanilla.

He pulled away from her hastily, feeling distressed and uncomfortable and full of pent-up arousal. “Sorry, I have to— Where’s Gabby? She might be drowning.”

He walked away quickly, cheeks flushed, sort of hunched over and lopsided to hide his huge boner.

— from “little explosions”

(flashback to July 2085, 3 years ago story time)

Next ->

[bluestar22x]

Never Forgotten

Summary: Light pink carnations represent love and gratitude, appreciation of a mother, and never forgetting someone. That's why Marcus gifts them to both his wives on Mother's Day.

Pairing: Marcus Moreno x OFC!Elena (Current Wife), Marcus Moreno x OFC!Reina (Past Wife)

Rating: 18+ Series

Word Count: 2,800(ish)

Warnings: Romance, sexual tension, flashbacks, pregnancy, family life, mentions of cancer, sickness, death, mourning, angst, love, joy - it's a rollercoaster

Author’s Note: This takes place in my Second Chances verse, but you do not need to read the series to enjoy this! This was created for the Moth and Birdie's Mother's Day Fic Challenge by @mothandpidgeon and @ezrasbirdie. Went with something both sweet and angsty, but true to Mother's Day.

xxx

"Mommy, mommy get up!"

An excited young voice drew you from a peaceful night's sleep, leaving you drowsy and a bit mopey about not being able to wake up on your own terms that morning. It was rare you had a day off where you could do so. You had thought on Mother's Day you'd have a better chance.

Still, you smiled when your three and a half year old son (almost four, he insisted) ran into your view, looking as lively as ever.

"Morning, Teo," you mumbled at him.

"Morning, mommy," he greeted you back, beaming. "We have a present for you!"

"Oh? You do?" You and your husband Marcus had decided last year that outside of Christmas presents weren't really going to be a part of your holidays anymore, so you were curious what was in store for you.

Teo nodded at you enthusiastically. "Yeah! Daddy sent me up here to get you!"

"Well," you said as you sat up in bed and rubbed your eyes, "Tell daddy I'll be down in a minute. I've got to brush my teeth first."

And use the bathroom, but that was a given.

"Okay!" And just like that the young boy with wild curls left your room, flying off like superman, whose image was printed many times over on his cotton pajamas.

You made your way after him as soon as you could, having smelled your "present" before you even made it out of the master bedroom.

Marcus was making breakfast, and the kids were helping out, you could only assume. Knowing them, Teo probably came up with the idea, and Missy probably insisted Marcus not do it on his own. She knew very well how easily distracted he could get sometimes.

"Smells like burnt eggs," you joked as you strolled into the kitchen, stopping to pet Ginger, your Chihuahua, who was laying on her side on the bare floor, basking in the warmth of the morning sun.

"Not on my watch," Missy told you from her position by the stove, alongside Marcus.

"Hey," he protested. "I can and have cooked eggs just fine on my own!"

"So long as the TV's not on," you added, grinning. "So this is my present? Breakfast?"

"Brunch," Marcus corrected you as he shut off the stove top burner he'd been using. "It's ten-thirty, honey."

"I slept that long?" You gaped. "Why didn't you wake me earlier?"

"Part of your gift," Missy said, nodding towards the table. "We're also going out for supper. You're not allowed to cook today."

"Sounds good to me," you told her, going to sit at the kitchen table with Teo, who was already chowing down on a syrup covered pancake. "Can I steal a piece?"

"Of course mommy," he answered, pushing his plate towards you more willingly than you'd expected. The kid loved his food. "It's your special day."

"Just testing you," you declared, winking as you plopped a fresh pancake from the stack in the middle of the table onto the plate in front of you. "I can take my own."

Marcus and Missy placed more food on the table, eggs and bacon and breakfast potatoes as you poured a ton of syrup on yours, more than even Teo liked. You preferred your pancakes drowned in it.

As they both sat down with you and Teo, you took a moment to sniff the large bouquet of light pink carnations that were in a thin dark green vase in front of your spot at the table. "Mmm, these smell lovely."

Marcus smiled. "I'm glad you like them. Happy Mother's Day, Elena."

You covered his hand with yours and grinned back. "Thanks for all of this. Though the flowers could technically be considered a gift."

"I get some for Reina every year," he reminded you. "Didn't feel right not to give some to you too when you're not getting anything else."

"Are you visiting her this afternoon?" you asked him quietly.

"On the way to the restaurant, after we visit mom," he confirmed, squeezing your fingers with his.

Reina had been Marcus' first wife. The original Mrs. Moreno. She had passed away years before you'd even met Missy in the school library. You'd encouraged Marcus to keep up the tradition he had of visiting her grave around Christmas, her birthday, and Mother's Day, along with Missy, even when things got hectic.

Sometimes you hung back, giving them their privacy, other times you joined them in solemn silence.

You didn't know Reina outside pictures, stories Missy retold of her mother, mentions Marcus made of her, but you felt a kind of connection to her through them. A comradery of sorts, having both shared your lives with them.

There had never been a time where you'd even considered being jealous of her ghost. You knew Marcus loved you both, equally and differently at the same time, neither able to replace the other. And you were grateful to her even, after all, you wouldn't have Missy in your life if she'd never given birth to her. You couldn't imagine what the last five years or so of your life would've looked like if Reina had never existed.

A coworker had once asked you if you could bring Reina back if you would do it, and you'd said of course without hesitation. Even though it was a loaded question, the answer was easy because you knew how much Marcus and Missy still mourned her, and you'd have loved to meet her. You wouldn't let fear or insecurity make you selfish. You refused to have them, and you loved your family too much for that.

"Dig in before the eggs get cold," Missy warned, snapping you out of your thoughts.

You nodded and reached for the pan of scrambled eggs that was thoroughly mixed with herbs which made them look more tempting than ever. "They look perfect, Missy."

She shrugged. "I've gotten a lot of practice in college."

Though Missy was currently living in a dorm most days, she got cooking experience through the cafeteria job she'd picked up on campus at the tail end of the previous semester.

You took a good share of the eggs, though you made sure to leave enough for the rest of your family and shoved a mouthful into your mouth with your fork.

You closed your eyes and hummed at the delectable taste of them. "Holy...cow Missy. These are amazing! That's not standard for a college campus."

"I mix it up when they let me."

"I'll try not to take offense that you've never said that when I cook," Marcus teased.

"You have plenty of other talents," you assured him.

Some of which would be very inappropriate to mention here, you thought.

The way he grinned at you after, you were certain his mind had gone there too.

Later. Definitely later. Once you had privacy and the kids weren't likely to interrupt.

For now you were going to enjoy the family you both had cultivated together.

x

Visiting Reina's grave never really got easier for Marcus, but this visit was one of the hardest in a long time, even with Missy by his side and you and Teo waiting in the car.

This particular Mother's Day marked ten years of the holiday without Reina's presence. It meant Missy was well into having spent most of her life without her mother around.

That thought pained Marcus deeply as he set the flowers in his hands, ones identical to the batch he'd given you earlier, up against her headstone.

When he backed away a couple feet Missy stepped forward and kissed a couple of her fingers before pressing them against the top of the gray granite. "Miss you, mom."

Marcus felt his heart plummet at her soft, solemn words. For the first time in years tears threatened to surface.

No words were able to form on his lips, none he could think of seemed appropriate, so he thought about Reina instead.

x

He'd been training in the Heroics gym shirtless when they first met. She walked in all professional in a pencil skirt and white blouse, long dark hair pulled back in the tightest possible ponytail, not even batting an eye at the sight of his young sweaty form pounding on the punching bag before him.

"Mrs. Moreno wants to see you," she'd stated plainly.

"Hey," he'd greeted her, halting his activities and wiping the sweat off his forehead with a nearby towel. "Are you the new secretary?"

"Yeah, I am," she replied, pausing, "Sorry, it was rude of me not to introduce myself first. I'm Reina."

Marcus stuck out his right hand and she shook it. "Nice to meet you, Reina. I'm Marcus."

"I know," she said, "Your reputation proceeds you. Top of your Heroics class and your mother told me you're aiming for leadership someday."

He frowned. "She did now, huh?" His mother had been suggesting he take her place from the start of his training to be a Heroic. She claimed he would be a great leader, but he still wasn't convinced after a decade of hearing it.

Reina must have heard the change of tone in his voice. "Is it not true?"

"It's an option," he told her. "I'm just not sure I'd be good at it. If I even want to be the leader."

She nodded. "It's not an easy choice."

"Speaking from experience?"

She shook her head yes. "My father's a lawyer. He was expecting me to lead his legal team someday. Instead I moved away from the countryside, to the city to be a little ol' secretary."

"You like the job?" Marcus asked.

She smiled, and it suddenly occurred to him that it just might be the most beautiful smile he'd ever seen. "Yeah. Your mother is nice to work for. Honest, brutally sometimes, but not mean. And I like the idea of helping you Heroics do your job, since I don't have powers myself."

"You don't need to be powered to be a Heroic," Marcus informed her. "Yes, the team's all powered at the moment, but there are no rules against non-powered people from joining."

"I'm more of a behind the scenes person," she said.

"I can respect that. We need people like you. You and the other secretaries are the backbone of this team."

She looked surprised. "You really think so?"

"We couldn't do our job without you," he added.

She smiled again, and he felt something akin to his stomach flipping witnessing it. "Thanks, Marcus. It's nice to hear. Can I tell Mrs. Moreno you're on your way?"

"Yeah," he said. "Is it an emergency, or can I shower first?"

"No emergency," Reina answered. "I'll tell her you'll be up in ten."

Marcus nodded. "Yeah, I'll be ready by then."

"Perfect," she said with a nod before spinning away on her six inch heels.

He watched her go, fully realizing he was interested in her, beyond pure physical attraction, but having no idea if they'd have a shot together.

Her looking back at him just as she opened the door to leave the gym space gave him hope.

x

"How was today?" Marcus inquired as he walked over to Reina, who was standing on their apartment balcony, apparently waiting for him to come home from work.

He banded his arms around her from behind and leaned down to press a light kiss to her jaw as his hands found the underneath of the expansive mound at her waist.

"Your daughter has been moving almost constantly all day," she told him, splaying a hand over his, the same one that bore the rings he'd given her the previous year. "And she insists on kicking my ribs at the worst possible times," she added with a hint of exasperation.

"Be nice to your mama, baby," he said sternly to his unborn child as she shifted under his palms.

Or he tried to at least.

Reina chuckled. "Guess I'll be the one disciplining her. Not that I'm surprised."

"You calling me soft?" Marcus asked with mock upset.

She turned in his arms to face him. "You are going to be like putty with her."

"Now, that's going too far."

She grinned at him, brown eyes bright and lively, and curled her arms around his neck so she could guide his head down to her lips for a warm kiss.

"I haven't been wrong about you so far," she whispered after, lips quirking upward.

He couldn't argue with that.

x

She looked as beautiful as ever, skating alongside little seven-year-old Missy, holding her hand gently and giggling as they both tried to keep themselves from falling over on the rough surface of the frozen lake.

Her hair hadn't grown back in well, so she was wearing a wig but it looked normal enough, she looked normal enough that Marcus could enjoy the moment, soak in the sight of Reina enjoying the sunny winter day with her daughter, despite it being as bitter cold as it was.

Watching her, watching them that day, Marcus had a hard time comprehending that his wife was dying right in front of him and he couldn't do anything to stop it.

For months he'd been at her side, every step of the way, holding her hand, her hair, as she suffered through radiation and chemo and a mastectomy, all in hope that it would cure her illness.

All of it had been for naught, her doctor having told her last month that they had no more options, that the cancer had spread to a whole slew of different places in her body, including her brain.

She could've continued chemo to prolong her life a little longer, but Reina had decided to choose quality over quantity. She hadn't wanted to live out her final days feeling as sick as chemo made her, so she stopped going to get treatments.

Marcus could only respect her wishes. He knew he would want the same put in her position, and a day like this was worth a lot more than a hundred of her lying in bed hardly able to move or clinging to the toilet bowl.

She caught him watching and they shared beaming smiles, hers natural, his a bit more forced, but it was still wonderful.

x

Going to the mountain lake for one last family trip had been her idea, and as per usual she'd been right.

They'd all needed it, and that was the memory Marcus had clung to most the week, the month, the year after her death.

That last truly good memory always made him smile through the tears.

And as he often did, he made a silent promise never to forget it that particular Mother's Day. To never forget her, as she was meant to be.

x

It was ten minutes before Marcus and Missy joined you and Teo in the car again, as usual more subdued than when they'd left it.

Missy buckled herself back into the seat next to Teo's as you rested a hand on Marcus' cheek, rubbing a thumb over it comfortingly. You could still see the lingering grief in his eyes, freshened by the visit to Reina's grave.

"You okay?"

He grabbed your hand and kissed the top of it, his love for you surging. "With you, always."

He slowly let go of your hand so you could rest it on your lap and you smiled softly. You had no doubt of how important you were to him, but it was still the best feeling to hear it.

He poured it into an intimate kiss you shared later on, after you got back home and the kids raced into the house together, anxious to rewatch a movie they both enjoyed together in Missy's old bedroom.

"You are the best wife I could've ever asked for," he told you, his mouth hovering just over yours, his hands on your hips. "Certainly the best mother."

"Just like Reina," you said, without a tinge of insecurity to it.

"I've been so damn lucky," he murmured, bumping his nose against yours, the edges of your glasses also hitting. "I got to share some of my life with her, and now I get to spend the rest of it with you. Two amazing women who gave me two wonderful kids. I'm beyond grateful."

"How much so?" you inquired, a playfulness to your words. Your hands traveled from his shoulders to his soft stomach, just above the waistline of his pants, fingers grazing the top of his belt buckle.

He hummed with peaking interest as he observed their new, tantalizing placement. "Way beyond."

You grinned widely at him. "Wanna take a shower with me?"

"Have I ever said no?"

You chuckled at that and guided him anxiously into the house to sneak past Missy's bedroom.

The sun may have set, but as far as you were concerned, your Mother's Day celebration was hardly near its end.

And you had a feeling it would be one of those nights not to be forgotten.

xxx

Tagged: @harriedandharassed

xxx

Series Masterlist

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[inbarfink]

Much like many ‘What Remain of Edith Finch’ fans, I also subscribe to the theory that there is nothing truly supernatural about the ‘Family Curse’. That it’s more of a bad trauma-coping-mechanism turned self-fulfilling-prophecy that led the Finches to romanticize and obsess over death, take unnecessary risks, and never learn from their mistakes. 

But generally I see folks people point to Molly’s death as the event where this really got going. Like, obviously the ‘Curse’ existed long before this back in Norway - but its Molly’s death and Edie’s inability to process her own guilt in it that led her into a full-on obsession with the ‘Family Curse’ that eventually doomed almost her entire beloved family. And while I don’t deny that the loss of Molly was certainly an important step in Edie’s obsession- I’d say the true inception of it all was quite a bit earlier, back when Edie lost her father and her house.

Because the loss of that old house has clearly left a huge mark on Edie, it haunted her dreams every night of her long life - she spent what was probably her last few days on earth writing a story about it. And what is Edie’s biggest problem? She clings, she never lets the past go. In her own whimsical and cheerful way, she’s in a state of permanent mourning. Every death story is retold and mythologized, every dead child’s room is meticulously preserved as the day they died (to the point of making one of her sons share a room with his dead twin for 11 years), the New Finch House can rarely actually change - it can only grow. And I do believe that this obsession with preserving the past is born of the time Edie had to watch all the past she had at that time drown beneath the waves alongside her father.

We really can’t know what sort of memorialization traditions the Finches had back in Norway. We’ve never being inside of the Old House, not even in Edie’s story. And according to Edith’s narration, Odin built it - so it probably hasn’t been around for enough generations for the Finch tendency to cling to the past to be as evident as with the outside architecture of the New House. 

But I feel like it’s very probable that while Edie really took it to another level, the Finches had a tradition of memorialization for a long time. There’s a reason why Odin was so insistent of sailing his entire damn house across the ocean. And when it drowned, Edie didn’t just lose her daddy and her childhood home - but also everything that connected her to the dead Finches that came before her. There’s a reason why we know almost nothing about Ingeborg, Edie’s mother, all of her possessions and pictures have been lost when the house sunk. Odin probably only kinda avoided that fate on account of being a kinda-known writer, so his books and pictures of him were still available outside the House. But who knows many other Finches’ memories were buried under the waves.

During Edith’s flashback of her last day in the house, you can see some of Edie’s post-it notes about ‘the History of the Finches’, full of names neither Edith nor the player can recognize. 

And when Dawn pulls the book away from Edith, you can see a few lines that were not narrated to us. 

“And I wasn't alone. I started seeing things. The bed I shared with my sister. The chair my grandmother died in. The clock I used to hide inside of.”

All of these people were once just as real as Louis, Dawn and Edie were to Edith - but how much of them was really left after decades of existing only in Edie Finch’s mind? How many of these names Edie remembered and how many did she have to guess at inside the fog of her memories? Does Edie really remember the chair her grandmother died in or did she have to hesitate wandering if it was a sofa instead? Did she even remember her own mother’s face by the end? 

The true tragedy of Edie’s book isn’t really that Edith never got a chance to read more of it. We know the other entrance to the library exists, if Edith was truly driven she could have tried finding that key (gathering up the torn book honestly wouldn’t be that much of a worry, it seems to have basically into two big halves, after all). The reason why the Player never gets to read on is cause I think Edith realized that this book was just pure fantasy.

And not just in the sense that there wasn’t ever any freak earthquake and low tide that allowed the Old Finch House to resurface, in the sense that whatever Edie wrote about meeting or discovering in the Old House was stitched together from the half-remembered memories and wishful thinking of a grief-stricken old woman. There was nothing there that would’ve truly brought Edith (or her son, or the Player) more information about the family history or the ‘Curse’. It could only teach her about what great grandma Edie wanted to be true, and what she wanted most of all is see that Old House again. To once again, for the first time in years... feel like she was home. To meet all these people she lost and can’t preserve eternally like she thought she could with her new family. To have something from them she can preserve. To be able to tell Edith about her sister and uncle and grandmother and mother. To truly remember them again. But she can’t. All of these ideas as such of a fantasy as the Old House rebuilding itself before her eyes. And that’s the true tragedy of ‘The History of the Finches”.

Edie was so resistant to Dawn’s attempts to move away from the family obsession with death because she thought she knew what it feels like to let go, what it feels like to move on. And it feels like all of her family and memories drowning beneath the waves. The roof peeking over the shore a constant reminder of all that she lost. And cause the Finches are not really good at finding a happy medium, all Edie knows is to cling to the past, to everything she can lose, to her house. Even as her obsession exacerbated the ‘Family Curse’ - until all her family died or left her. Until Edit Sr. ‘Edie’ Finch died all alone in her big empty house, surrounded by her perfectly preserved memories of her dead children.

Like I mentioned at the start, I think the ‘Curse’ became a self-fulfilling prophecy partially because it led to a mindset that never learns from mistakes. If every death is a manifestation of a supernatural blight upon the family line, then there’s no point at looking at a tragic death of a child as a mistake that might’ve been prevented, then there’s no attempt to avoid similar mistakes in the future. And Odin’s death is really the encapsulation of that problem. 

Odin supposedly moved to America in the hopes of leaving the curse behind and moving on, but just like his daughter, he was seemingly incapable of actually leaving anything behind. He sailed his entire goddam house across the ocean (and through either the arctic circle or the Panama Canal cause the Finches live on the State of Washington) because he was so unable to part with any of the memories imbued within it. And how did that end? With both Odin and his precious home buried beneath the waves forever. If Odin was able to admit he can’t take everything with him to America, he could’ve simply taken the most important mementos of his dead wife and child and the Finch Family History in general and be able to actually preserve some of his memories in his new home. Or at the very  least let his daughter keep at least some pictures of her own darn mother. Instead of losing everything, including his own life.

But for Edie, this whole story didn’t seem like an almost-parable-like narrative about how clinging too hard to the past might just mean destroying it more thoroughly. It just seemed to her like the Curse striking again, making it clear it will follow the Finches everywhere in the most poetic way possible. So instead of learning any sort of lesson from what happened to Odin, she glorified and romanticized the actions of her father. Built him a monument that made him seem like some sort of hero. She reveled in the story of the house that sailed across the ocean and almost made it ashore. And then just set on making his exact same mistake, over and over again.

[balladedutempsjadis]

I drove 30 minutes each way today to go and see Ponniyin Selvan 2 at the theater closest to me that was still showing it. So this is the sequel to a movie that I didn’t even know about until last Saturday but I’m now OBSESSED (so if you’re a fan and I just friended you that’s why!)

The long drive was soooo worth it though I’m a little ticked off that the manager of the theater was so late to open things up that we missed the first ten minutes of the film (but I know I’ll watch both films again when Amazon gets PS2 in late June so no violence was done ;))

Short version: well worth seeing in the theater and I’m really glad I got the chance. I loved the movie, and couldn’t believe how fast it moved for an-almost 3 hour film. The characters and plot were as engrossing as in the first film and I’m glad I was mostly unspoiled except by history (spoilers below) because there were moments of intense suspense. I’m sad that it’s not a trilogy because I really wanted to spend even MORE TIME in this world with these people.

Longer version (with SPOILERS):

1. I knew Aditha Karikalan would die at some point because he never became a Chola king. And it was probably for the best that he didn’t rule the Cholas lands because I think he would not have made a good king, being so ruled by his passions. At least a few courses in anger management would have helped probably. But … Vikram was really stunning in the role of a man who loathes himself for what he’s become and is dying of guilt and shame long before he actually dies. Just ... I need to watch both movies again and see how his character develops from the flashbacks to the bitter husk of a man he is.

I still can’t figure out one thing, which is why he agreed to basically give up the kingdom for Madhurantakan without taking account the interests of his brother Arunmozhi Varman, whom he very demonstrably cared for deeply. (He was destroyed by the thought that his younger brother had drowned, and the only time we've seen present Aditya happy what when Nambi told him that Arunmozhi was alive.) Was it just because he already knew he was either going to convince Nandini to run away with him or more likely let her kill him and other people would be sorting out that mess anyway? Another reason that he wouldn’t have made a good king - running off with another dude's wife - but which made him such a fascinating and complex character and I keep thinking about how both Nandini and Aditha were destroyed by his family's actions. *sob* (Although, Arunmozhi also gave up a crown twice - the one the monks offered him in Sri Lanka and the one his father gave him at the end - so maybe giving up kingdoms just runs in the family. I'm #TeamQueenKundavai TBQH :P)

2. That brings me to Nandini. I felt like she really did love Aditha Karikalan but she also did love power and being a Queen (because of the theater malfunction I only got to see the very end of the flashbacks of young Aditha and young Nandini at the beginning of the movie so I may have a clearer understanding that this is not what she's about once I see that.) Aditha says "lies!" when she says she wants power, and riches, and a throne, but I think it's not *entirely* lies? She was powerless when the Cholas deported her, and powerless to stop Aditha from killing the man she thought of as a father (who actually WAS her father), so I can certainly understand why part of her longed for the power to protect herself from heartbreak and destitution and why that part of her was willing to use her beauty to manipulate men (like Parthibendran, more on him later.) Her vengeance and hatred hollowed out her character just as much as guilt and anger did to Aditha, but she doesn't murder Vanthiyadevan (OMG HOW DO YOU SPELL THAT?) when she has the chance even though she knows he's going to do everything to spoil her plans. So there's still something in her that isn't completely spoiled, and I ended up just feeling incredibly awful for her (and even more awful for her mother!)

She is so damn beautiful! (One slight thing that I WISH they had done was give the young woman who played young Nandini (wonderfully) some hazel contact lenses so I'd wouldn't mentally have to color her eyes :P)

3. Next we come to Vandiyadevan, who was just ... perfect? I loved him. He was like an ancient Tamil D'Artagnan (and that would make Aditha Karikalan Athos and Nandini Milady, I guess? And Nambi is Porthos and Kundavai is Aramis, the clever one.) Anyway, he was great, smart, quick-thinking, a great warrior, but also not at all dumb. I really liked him and enjoyed all of his scenes. And I found out from history that the historical character did get to marry Kundavai so YAY! He was just a nice bright spirit without a ton of angst.

4. And now we come to the titular character, Ponniyin Selvan (Ponni's son) himself, Arunmozhi Varman, who eventually becomes Rajaraja Chola. I had never even heard of Jayam Ravi (sorry, this is I think the first Tamil movie I've watched since I was a kid) but he was ABSOLUTELY PERFECT as the young "King of Kings." I think this might have been the most difficult role in the film to pull off, simply because Rajaraja Cholas is so famous and so beloved STILL, a thousand years after his death. It's very rare that I would love the unequivocally good guys in a historical epic or fantasy movie/series but there is something about this character played by this actor that is just extremely charismatic. To start with, he's tall and handsome so that helps. But there's another quality that no one else in this film has, which that he radiates inner calm.

It's not that he doesn't have strong emotions that he shows on his face, because yes absolutely he does, and it's not that he doesn't have much do action-wise because he does, especially in P-S2.

But in the midst of this frenetic action and these tortured characters, Arulmozhi Varman has this quality of stillness at his core. No wonder the Buddhist monks like him so much that that they will put themselves between him and assassins' daggers. (Also did I mention the tall and handsome part?)

Plus, he has that classic "worthy to be a king" thing going because he does not want the throne and that's what makes him worthy. First of all, he refuses the throne of Lanka when he's offered it by the Buddhist monks there, and then, after he's won the battle and broken the rebellion and secured the safety of his family's kingdom, he gives up THAT crown too. WE - the audience - know that Uttama Chola will ultimately die (I think peacefully?) and Arulmozhi will become Rajaraja Chola but HE doesn't know that, and none of the other people, his friends and family, know that either. Like, I'm kind of in awe of the actual historical figure too. The character could have died so many times in these two films, and the historical person, who was a warrior king, could also have died long before he took the throne, so he was FOR REAL making a huge sacrifice. And I think he did it so there would be no divisions that the Cholas' enemies could take advantage of, as there had been for Nandini and the Pandyas to exploit when Maduranthakan decided that yes, he did want to be king and that it wasn’t fair that his brother’s oldest son would be king instead of him. No one living at the end of the film knows that Aditha essentially killed himself, but everyone knows that the plotters were using Maduranthakan as a puppet. (The crown was kind of funny looking so I'm actually glad my boo didn't put it on at the end :P) (Also more on Maduranthakan later.)

Also, how cool is it that in the battle at the end, Arunmozhi comes riding out of the smoke while the Chola anthem plays, just as his brother did in the first scene of the first movie. I love that parallel (and the differences are important too, because Aditha was engaging in a conquest of a neighboring kingdom and Arunmozhi is defending the Chola kingdom.)

Anyway, Ponniyan Selvan lived to become the great Rajaraja Chola, whose reign saw one of the highest points of Indian art (the extraordinary Chola bronzes) and the construction of the great South Indian temple of Brihadeswara in Thanjavur.

The carvings are amazing (look closely at this elephant which is doing something that happens in PS2 :D)

OK, moving on ... though I don't want to ...

5. Kundavai, the third royal sibling, who I also love to BITS. She didn't have as much to do in this film, I thought, and maybe it's because there was more focus on Nandini in this one, but she remained smart and sensible and I love the face-off with her uncle when he brings the Shiva-yogis to make his mother (Kundavai's grandmother) apologize for not putting him on the throne. Kundavai forces him and his rather intimidating crowd of followers to back off with a lot of hard stares (Paddington would be so proud.) And then she has the lovely little scene with Vandiyadevan (I'm still so sorry I don't know how to make this work) and and another gorgeous scene with her brothers at the Buddhist monastery (which, I love the scene but I hate that it’s the ONLY one). I love her, and I think she should have become the queen and my only consolation is that IRL she got to basically shape two great kings of the Chola dynasty, Rajaraja AND his son Rajendra. (And Rajaraja named his daughter after her so he obviously appreciated her a LOT.) Anyway, I love her and would love a series about her (IF ANYONE IS LISTENING.)

Awww! I just want to draw little hearts and flowers around this GIF. I wish we got more of them being adorable and hot together.

6. Everyone else (sorry this is getting super long), including some questions I have.

a. Vanathi: I know I saw some scenes of her and Arulmozhi in one of the song videos hat got cut in the actual film and I just would have liked to know more of her relationship with Kundavai and with Kundavai's brother. They were lovely together, but it just felt like there was a lot of missing stuff. I liked what I saw of her especially the adorable dance in PS1. And she was also related to ... someone? Because she called him "mama" (uncle?) and he seemed to be the commander of Aditha's forces, but then there was another dude at Kadambur who was a relative of the Cholas and the treasurer guy who was married to Nandini but they were not the same person and I thought one of them was Vanathi's uncle. NEEDS MORE BACKSTORY.

b. Poonguzhali (AGAIN I AM SURE I SPELLED THIS WRONG): I REALLY need more backstory on this. When did she meet Ponniyan Selvan? Why did he call her Samudra Kumari? Why did she risk her life for him (I mean, besides being in love with him which checks out because everyone else is :P) and what was the deal with her and the flower man at the temple? I just feel like a lot of stuff was missing that would have helped me understand better what was happening. (Also she was an amazing sailor to have gotten through that storm.)

c. Parthibendran Pallava and his lightning-fast enmity to Vandiyadevan and then his baseless accusation that Arunmozhi Varman had sent Vandiyadevan to murder Aditha Karikalan. I mean, did he even meet either of them? Why did he think Arunmozhi wanted his brother dead? Was it all just from meeting Nandini THAT ONE TIME because bro, you need a slap if that's the case?

d. Madhurantakan - I was screaming at him (in my head) to realize that there would be no coup without bloodshed, GOD OF COURSE SOME OR ALL OF HIS BROTHER'S KIDS AND HIS BROTHER WOULD DIE. And the other kings wanted a puppet on the throne, not a warrior like Aditha or someone as popular as Arunmozhi (also a brave warrior). But finally Madhurantakan learned his lesson before he fully betrayed his kingdom and family and people. However, the bit about how he was administrating the kingdom for 25 years dropped in at the end was a bit sudden and I would have liked to know Arunmozhi’s thought process, even if it was just “hey I just want to go have adventures with Vandiyadevan because it’s super fun.” I would have also liked some evidence of said administration because they kept playing up his devotion to Shiva and not much else (though he clearly had the Shaivite warrior-mendicant vote SOWN UP! But I'm also confused because some - but not all - of those dudes appeared to be Secret Pandya Assassins, like the lady who attacked the Buddhist monastery and forced Arunmozhi to come out and show himself to the people and by people I mean assassins.) So I don't know ... Anyway, glad Madhurantakan came to his senses and did not side with the other kings against his family. While his reward for only being partially a traitor seemed disproportionate, on the other hand, I thought Arulmozhi was also smart to say that his sword and Vandiyadevan's would be backing up Uncle M so no one got any ideas and probably Kundavai would also be advising Uncle M about good administration. :D (It was kind of funny that Arulmozhi had to get the crowd to cheer for his uncle because they were all like *do not want**we want YOU, young victorious prince* but it’s a sign of his charisma that he got them to accept his uncle as king.)

e. The Pandya assassins were a bit reminiscent of Wile E. Coyote tbqh. All their plans kept not working out in spectacular ways. Is there some reason why no one tipped an arrow with poison or put poison in a cup of wine for Aditha who liked his wine or put poison on their swords so even if they nicked Arunmozhi they'd end up killing them? Do you sense a theme here? Was there some reason why the revenge had to involve actual beheading or it didn't count? Honestly, without Nandini they would have failed even more spectacularly. Also, after Nandini killed herself, what happened to the little Pandya boy king - Nandini's half-brother who swore vengeance? (FYI, I read somewhere - wish I could remember where - that Rajaraja Chola hunted down the assassins of his brother even as far as Indonesia.)

f. I was a little confused by all the uncles and grandparents and so on, like the white-haired general was the grandfather of the three Chola siblings, I assume their mother's father?

g. I would have liked some of the storylines more fleshed out (especially Mandakini's because that was very sudden and if she came and gave birth to Nandini in the Chola lands, how did Sundara Chola not know about this and I guess she spent time hanging out so she could save Arunmozhi when he fell in the water at home and abroad? Why did she care for him so much? Because he was like his father? That seems pretty generous. Anyway ...) If there is a director's cut that is five hours long for each film, PLEASE BRING IT ON. I would love to see it.

In conclusion - I LOVED both movies. This feels like a very special and great achievement, and I hope its success leads to more really good directors delving into South Indian history, like that of the Vijaynagara Empire (which is the subject of Salman Rushdie's latest novel which I haven't read yet.)

ETA: THE MUSIC. I loved it. I've been listening to some of it on a constant loop.

I'm now off to read the books and explore the filmography of Vikram, Trisha, Karthi and Jayam Ravi (if there are any films that are really awesome or really awful please let me know in the comments.) I have been meaning to get into South Indian cinema more and this was a great starting point.

[synergysilhouette]

An alternate take on "Moana" (2016)

I really enjoyed "Moana." It was a beautiful film with a gorgeous story and a nice twist. However, as with all my rewrites, I did have some nit-picks with it.

More deities. When creating "Moana," the directors used Fiji, Samoa, and Tahiti, which are part of Polynesia or Micronesia, respectively. I recall there was some criticism on what specific culture Moana was supposed to be emulating, and while I think it'd be fine to include other Polynesian-inspired deities, but perhaps original ones could potentially be well-received. I could potentially see it as a cross between "Big Hero 6" and "Hercules" in terms of having a fun and bubbly group of characters, as well as showing why Te Ka is such a threat to all forms of life.

2. Make Moana less obsessed about the sea, keeping it a secret from the chief. She sees how it upsets him, even before learning why. As such, she keeps this to herself, so that she can be a chief that's not distracted. This is just me, but I was slightly annoyed that her wanting to explore the reef was moreso for herself than her people, and later she was given reason to indulge in it.

3. Moana's brothers. A big issue I have with "Moana" is that the major cast is so small; once on the ocean, it's just Moana, Maui, and Hei-Hei. I'd have loved including a couple of brothers from the original concept--not all of them, since it'd be too many characters (or perhaps some go with her while the others stay home).

4. Bring Pua instead of Hei-Hei. Personal preference; Hei-Hei was annoying and Pua seemed a little bit smarter.

5. Maui's design. A critique of Maui's design is that he's portrayed as obese, whereas culturally he's seen as athletic, and it was seen as embracing the derogatory stereotype of the obese Pacific Islander. Making him more athletic physically would've been an easy fix. Along with this, I'd probably tweak his personality. In the film, his vanity is sourced from being a hero to mortals, but it would be neat if he was a more submissive character, instead being a people-pleaser. While it wouldn't make him stealing the Heart of Te Fiti right, it'd make him look less evil and cruel; it'd feel more like he was being manipulated and taken advantage of after his mother threw him away.

6. The Ocean's duality. Moana gets frustrated at the sea for bringing her to what she thought was an abandoned island (which was actually Maui's island), but we never see her or Maui question the sea; Maui just says that the ocean made bad judgement picking her. I do wish Moana had hesitancy cooperating with the sea due to almost drowning her and drowning her father's friend. Heck, maybe make this flashback happen earlier to explain why Moana isn't as hooked on going to the sea; she's traumatized, even if she finds it alluring.

Lemme know what you think! I know this movie is beloved as-is.

[highwaytothedangerzone502]

Foxtrot Alpha Alpha - Chapter 15

Pairing: Hangman x Female OC

Word Count: 1391

Warnings: Swearing, mention of death

Summary: Hangman learned his lesson a long time ago to never show his true feelings when someone's words or actions hurt him. To do so showed weakness that could be exploited, and Seresin men couldn't show weakness. Of course, there was an exception to every rule, and Jake's always came in the form of women, three in particular: his mom, Juliette Kazansky, and the girl whose name he could no longer bring himself to speak. She was the girl that got away; she was his biggest 'what if' and his biggest regret; she would forever be the ghost that haunted his dreams. Jake believed that's where she'd stay, for he would surely never see her again after what he did.

Or so he thought.

Notes: This is the sequel to India Lima Yankee; I'm using the same callsign for the Female OC as in Ghost Story because I just really like it, but they are different characters; chapters in italics are flashbacks.

Chapter Songs: Think of You Life As We Know It

****

Ghost

You're going to get someone killed.

Maverick's words echoed in her head, and while she could take criticism from almost anyone without flinching, hearing such a thing come from her idol hurt more than she cared to admit. The last thing Ghost wanted to do was hang out at the Hard Deck, where she knew Maverick would inevitably be after the tournament to finish the day off on a good note with the Daggers. Embarrassment hardly covered her emotions, and she dreaded showing her face to him. Any chance of her getting in his good graces was probably shot now...

Still, she'd promised Juliette and Jackie she'd be there tonight, and God knows what her sister would do to her if she didn't show. Reluctantly, Ghost showered, dried her hair, curled it, and did her makeup before throwing on black shorts, a white tee, and her ever-trusty bomber jacket. As she picked up her phone to check the time, a notification popped up: Ghoul's Birthday.

A knot lodged itself in Ghost's throat. How could she have forgotten that it was today? It'd only been a few years, and she'd never missed it before, so why had this year been any different? Shaking her head, Ghost thought: Forgive me, Ghoul. I've had a lot going on, but it's no excuse. I have to head to the bar to see the Daggers, but I'll make sure I do your favorite shot in honor of you and our tradition.

Gathering herself, Ghost shoved her phone into her jacket pocket and strolled to the Hard Deck, enjoying the ocean breeze caressing her skin. It temporarily alleviated her melancholy but returned when she stepped into the Hard Deck and saw Hangman and Coyote playing darts. Once upon a time, she would've joined them without reservation or hesitation. If only those times still existed. Swallowing her unease, Ghost headed to the bar.

"Hey, Penny," she greeted, plastering on a smile. "How are you?"

"Hey, Ghost," Penny replied cheerfully. "Heard you put on quite the show today."

The aviator let out a dry chuckle. "I think that depends on who you ask."

"The spectators thought you did a great job, but they're not the ones you wanted to impress today, were they?"

Ghost shook her head. "I wasn't trying to impress anyone, but I certainly left a sour taste in someone's mouth. That, in turn, has left a bitter one in mine that I need to wash down. May I order an Irish shot, please?"

"Hitting it hard right off the bat, huh?" Penny queried, grabbing the required glassware. "How badly do you think you screwed up?"

"Enough that it's gotten to me, and that's saying something, but I'm not going to drag you down with that. Besides, this drink isn't to drown my sorrows. This-" Ghost motioned at the shot Penny currently prepared- "is an homage to my late WSO: Ghoul. Today is her birthday. We always did this shot for her birthday, and if we were deployed and unable to do it on the day, it was the first thing we did when we stepped foot onto solid ground. She-"

"Is that an Irish shot?" Coyote asked excitedly, coming to stand beside Ghost. He draped an arm around her shoulders. "Were you planning on doing this without us?"

"Us?"

Hangman appeared on the other side of Coyote and confirmed, albeit uncharacteristically demure, "Us."

"We were going to celebrate Ghoul's birthday but wanted to wait until you arrived to participate. Almost like old times. Penny-" Coyote turned to the bartender- "make that three Irish shots, please, and thank you."

"You got it," she said, pouring the Bailey's and Jameson's whiskey into shot glasses and then filling pints of Guinness. She placed the glasses in front of the aviators and asked, "How about a picture before you knock these back?"

"Good thinking," Coyote agreed, handing Penny his phone. He gently but forcefully moved Ghost to his other side so she resided between him and Hangman. "Ladies in the middle."

Ghost didn't argue. She would push aside her feelings for Hangman to celebrate Ghoul's birthday. It was only a drink, after all. Coyote lifted his shot glass, and Ghost and Hangman did the same. They smiled at the camera for a quick photo before Penny returned the phone to its owner. Once tucked safely in his pocket, Coyote toasted, "To Ghoul!"

Hangman and Ghost echoed the sentiment, raising their shot glasses and clinking them against each other before dropping them into the pints and chugging them in one go. Ghost finished hers first, more so out of desperation than anything, for she hated the taste of beer, and the quicker she finished it, the sooner she could get another drink to wash away the taste of Guinness.

Ghost grimaced and ordered a Bailey's and Whiskey to wash away the taste. Coyote grinned and said, "You know Ghoul is laughing right now."

"The things I put myself through for her," Ghost replied, taking a big swig of her new drink the moment it landed in front of her. It briefly washed away the sambuca. "How much for the drinks, Penny?"

"Don't worry about it," she said, taking away the empty glasses and subtly nodding toward Hangman, who was glancing down at his phone. "Someone already took care of them."

Ghost took the hint, recognizing Hangman didn't want her to know what he'd done. "Oh, well, whoever they are, tell them thank you. I really appreciate it."

"What do you say we play some darts?" Coyote suggested, taking a sip of the beer he'd newly ordered. "One for old time's sake before the others get here."

Do it for Ghoul. She would want us to spend time together on her birthday. "Uh, sure, if you two don't mind me joining your bro party."

"You? Never. Right, Jake?" Coyote peered expectantly at his friend.

"Of course not," Hangman responded casually. He playfully smirked, "Remember, the board is the target."

Ghost frowned. "I missed the board one time!"

"And flooded a restaurant because of that."

"They shouldn't have put a water pipe below it! It was bound to happen sooner or later!"

Hangman chuckled. "I know, I know, I'm just giving you grief. Besides, that can't happen here. Penny was smarter than those other bar owners and made the decision to put the dartboard away from any water pipes. Come on."

The trio moved over to the game, and the boys allowed Ghost to go first. They only played for fun, not keeping score, namely because Hangman would've kicked both their asses at it. Darts had never been Ghost's game, and she missed the center by a long shot most of the time, but she at least hit the board. Hangman, naturally, hit bullseye after bullseye. Coyote even covered his friend's eyes as he took the shot, but Hangman still nailed it.

"Man, how do you do that?" Coyote demanded, staring in disdain at the three darts on the bullseye.

"I had to make up for the ass-whooping I got earlier today," he said. Turning to Ghost, he added, "Your callsign should've been Demon."

"Yeah, you're not the only one who probably thinks that. Some didn't take too kindly to the stunt and let me know."

"I was mad it worked, but I'm not-"

"It's not you that I'm talking about."

Hangman frowned. "Then fuck whoever got onto you about it. It might've been considered a dirty move, but it worked, and you wouldn't pull a stunt if you thought it would put them in danger."

Touched by his words, Ghost offered him a genuine, grateful smile. "I wish they saw it that way."

"Want us to take care of him?" Coyote queried, cracking his knuckles menacingly. Hangman mimicked the actions.

Ghost laughed and shook her head. "No, no, but I appreciate you having my back."

"Forever," Hangman said.

The response- a habit formed so many years ago that had yet to break despite everything- slipped off her tongue. "And always."

For the briefest of moments, the tension between the former friends dissipated. For a fleeting second, a peace settled over Hangman and Ghost, and had no one else joined them, perhaps it would've continued like that. However, the Daggers arrived, hollering their greetings from across the bar, and the moment disappeared.

****

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[dragonmasterhiccup]

She didn’t know how to respond, I mean how are you supposed to respond to that? When it was her dad who killed his? “I get it, but, yeah, you probably just need to give it more time, it’ll go away eventually.” Well she hoped it would go away, for him at least. She didn’t want to tell him that all those nightmares and flashbacks never went away for her. She still got them.

She finished tracing in the dirt, turning her head over to look at him, a small smile on her face. “Yeah, no problem.”

She shrugged. “ I’m okay,” she replied. And for the most part, she was. Sure, she still got nightmares, and she still panicked at random, and she still felt incredibly lonely ninety percent of the time, but she was okay.

And besides, right now, Hiccup needed his time to let it out, he had been dealing with everyone’s problems but his own.

(Oh for sure, I could totally see the survivors guilt as well. Also quick question, how long exactly has it been in the rp? I know you said the past year, but I was thinking it was more around the 6-7 month timeframe? Sorry! I’m just confused 🥲)

He let out a sigh of relief. That was great news.

"Good, that's good. I've been in many battles, I even almost died more than a few times, but this...it's different. I hadn't...lost someone like that before. I think that's why I'm having so much trouble with it. It's one thing when it's my life on the line, but when it's someone else, and they lose theirs saving mine..." He trailed off, unsure of how to finish that sentence.

"I've been knocked off Toothless, falling through the air into a fiery explosion. I've almost drowned, trapped in the bottom of the ocean, been kidnapped and had my life threatened, dangled off cliffs, fallen from cliffs, chained up...I've seen my fair share of near death experiences. In all of those instances, I was the only one at risk. My friends, my dad, were all okay. It was almost easier to pretend it didn't happen, because we were all alive."

"There were times when my friends were at risk as well, and I was able to put all of my energy towards saving them, especially Astrid. But I didn't have that chance to help my dad. It happened too fast..."

[echantedtoon]

Demon Bride Ch48 Bothersome Brothers P3

(WARNINGS!!: Reader has hit Sekido a few times but he is completely fine and already fully regenerated. Karaku IS his own warning. Possibly some innuendos. Mentioning of death. Sekido snacks Urogi's shoulder once. Sekido getting decapitated in a flashback. Aizetsu getting poisoned in a flashback. Water getting shoved out Sekido's cut off neck as reader performs semi CPR. Sekido almost drowns in flashback.)

"IM GOING TO KILL THEM!!"

"Yes, Dear. Of course you will."

"ILL KICK YOUR ASS TOO IF YOU DON'T PUT ME DOWN!!"

"Mmm hmm. Yes, yes."

"WHEN I GET A HOLD OF YOU ALL YOU'RE DEAD!!"

"I'm sure we'll be having a funeral soon, Dear."

What had followed after you chased the brothers all the way down the hall was that they had dumbly somehow turned down into a dead end and probably would've suffered your wrath...iiiiffff Aizetsu hadn't come right on time to grab you around the waist from behind bear hugging you to himself and lifting you off the ground. You squealed out as he did and dropped the walking stick as a result. Urogi was quick to snatch the stick up to make sure you wouldn't have any weapons to use against them however that didn't stop you from snarling and taking swings their direction. Curing and wriggling in Aizetsu's grasp. The blue eyed demon was much stronger than he looked and was easily able to keep you immobilized as he walked down the halls back towards their rooms. 

"What did you three do this time?", Aizetsu questioned as you continued to kick uselessly at his legs and claw at his arms holding you off the ground.

"NOT A THING!! SHE STARTED CHASING US LIKE A LUNATIC-"

HISS!!

Sekido flinched when a head snapped his way with a deep hiss making the three behind Aizetsu flinch. 

"Sekido, don't talk to our fiance like that. She's sensitive," Aizetsu cooed laying his cheek on top of your head in pity.

"YES I AM!!" You snarled in agreement while glaring as best as you could behind Aizetsu's shoulder. 

The three behind him stayed at least two yards behind Aizetsu who was coddling the equivalent of a wolf infested with rabbies and gone completely batshit insane. Many servants stared at you all in disbelief but you didn't care at this point eventually Aizetsu stopped in front of an open doorway and turned to walk in still coddling the growling female like an angry puppy. Slowly Urogi poked his head into the doorway followed by his two brothers and just stared inside at the two of you.

"Uh...Is it safe to come in?"

"Depends on who you mean." You glared at the three heads in the doorway.

"Let's not start another argument." Aizetsu set you down and his brothers froze when he finally let you go free. Karaku visibly gulped and shuffling behind Sekido more. "Now what happened while I was out?" He rose a brow between your glare and his brothers. "I step out for an hour and I come back to a war zone. What's wrong?"

"What's wrong?" He tilted his head as  you slowly looked at him."What's wrong?! I'll tell you what's wrong!" You glared and still looking at Aizetsu you pointed right at Karaku who gulped again. "After what happened yesterday I thought I would be treated with a little more decency!! But NO!! I FIND HIM SNATCHING ME UP THE MOMENT I OPEN MY DOOR AND JUST BEING A GENERAL PERVERT!!"

Aizetsu blinked... before looking at his brother in obviously confusion and questioning. Karaku immediately shook his head no as you glared in their direction.

"No! I didn't!," He insisted. "I was only courting! You didn't give any bad reactions to my mating call-"

"Mating call?! What am I? A deer!? I have absolutely no idea what you're even talking about!! I never should've bothered giving you a chance!!"

There was a silence for a long moment before Urogi and Karaku looked at one another. Sekido groaned feeling another headache coming on. And Aizetsu slowly facepalmed himself, then he slowly inhaled and let it out slowly.

".... Karaku didn't do anything wrong." You snapped at Aizetsu rubbing his face. "At least not this time." You looked about ready to throttle Aizetsu next but he spoke up before you could say a word. "You don't know about demon courting habits do you?" Your eyes... slowly blinked quietly..and he sighed again. "That's what I was afraid of. Misunderstandings saddens me."

"I-..What?" You shook your head. "No. I know about demon courting habits. Kyogai told me everything. It's how I accidentally ended up in this mess in the first place.  Demons court by confessing feelings or giving gifts or making arranged marriages.''

Aizetsu shook his head. "No. That's how we PROPOSE. Like with our courting gifts. Those were proposals for marriage and you accepted. Courting is an entirely different process."

A shattering sound went off in your mind as your eyes comically bugged out of your skull. There was silence as you stared at the blue eyed demon. "...... There's a difference?"

Aizetsu nodded. "Yes. Courting and proposing are both different."

"....HOW?!"

"Well you court someone differently before and after you propose to them." Your jaw dropped open as you tilted your head at him. "Didn't anyone...ever explain that to you?"

You continued to stare at him for a long moment.. before inhaling. "Are you trying to tell me that there's a difference between courting someone you like and continuing to courting someone AFTER you're engaged?!"

Aizetsu nodded again. "Yes. Before you propose to someone typically we would present our worth to you and show how well of a partner we'd be to you then after a while then we would propose with our courting gifts." He tilted his head at you. "Afterwards we would continue to court you until our marriage so you can decide if you would want to break off the engagement or not."

"..... What's the difference of courting AFTER you're engaged?!"

"How we communicate and react around other males." Aizetsu bluntly told you making you blink. "It's customary to show others to stay away with growls or hisses in a protective nature. Also during the engagement arc of courting it's not uncommon for us to show more affection now that we're partial partners."

"Show... affection?" You slowly glanced back to Karaku who looked at you like a kicked puppy. "...Like how?"

"Oh you know. The typical lovers' displays of affection." He shrugged. " Kissing, hugging, holding hands, wrapping our arms around you, sometimes like Akaza our kind with tails will just hold onto your body. "  He shrugged again. "But that's all typical knowledge... Although I suppose no one really told you about that."

You glanced between him and Karaku. ...Did...Did you misinterpret things again? Uh oh. Did you mess up again? "I...That still doesn't excuse him just grabbing me like that!"

"I ASKED!," Karaku insisted sounding annoyed and frowning at you. "You didn't respond when I did!!"

"No you didn't! You didn't ask me anything!"

"Yes I did!"

"All you did was make weird noises like a raccoon and tell me how much you wanted to kiss me!!"

"That's when I asked!?"

"When?!" You threw your arms up. "When during that entire conversation did you ask me anything like that?!"

Karaku frowned deeper. Then what sounded like a half purr half thrum left his throat that rose and dropped a few pitches quickly and  pointedly stared at you.

"Ok. You purred like a cat. So what?" Again the brothers exchanged looks. "What's with the looks?"

"Um.."you looked back to Aizetsu. "He just asked if he can kiss you clear as day."

"No he didn't."

"Um. You DO realize that not everything we say is in human language..Right?" You froze. "In fact, you do know that some demons can't even speak human at all and we have our own tongue. Right?"

It was like reality slapped you across the face in that moment and you slowly looked back to Karaku. Instantly the memories of Rui's Mother and two sisters came into mind. The woman and children communicated only by making strange noises. Eri and Akaza spoke to them using the same weird noises. ....Demons communicated in an entirely different way sometimes. And if Karaku had asked using the same thing and you didn't notice-

...Oops.

"...Ok. But that still doesn't excuse the fact that he tried to kiss me without me telling him it was ok. I didn't say anything. It wasn't a yes." 

"But it wasn't a no either. Usually a woman will protest if she wasn't alright with it. Karaku initiating that kind of courting isn't out of the question or unordinary. In fact, he was just doing  what everyone else such as Enmu was doing."

"Are you serious?"

"Oh! Are you telling me no one else has purred or growled at other males in your presence either?!,'' Karaku looked annoyed as you looked at him. 

"Cat noises?"

"Those 'cat noises' and different gestures have different meanings to them. Purring is an indication of affection. Haven't you noticed that by now? All the males displaying feats of strength and warding off others?"

You again were slammed with more reality. Akaza purred at you multiple times as did Enmu and Gyutaro a few times. Kaigaku growled at almost every man that wasn't him who got close to you and regularly looked like he was about ready to throw hands at Enmu. Was that why Enmu was always insisting on having you hold his arm as you walked together? Because it was a physical way of talking to others that you were taken? And when Gyutaro growled at those men in the restaurant Daki took you all to...Was that a display of possessiveness over you as well? You suddenly got a sinking feeling in your guts. 

"Oh no." Your hands went to your mouth as a guilt weighed on you. "Dam..I messed up." You turned back to the doorway. By now the brothers felt safe enough to step out into the room and stood there with Karaku being the closest to you and looking annoyed. "Oh gods. I can't believe I did that to you.." You walked forward extending your hand. "Are you alright?"

Karaku huffed before smiling and holding out his arms. "Well all is forgiven, Sweethear-" He paused as you walked right past him and up to Sekido whom blinked.

"I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have done that to you! Are you alright?! Nothing broken I hope."

Sekido ... blinked as a hand grabbed his cheeks gently. Before grunting and waving at them to let go. "I'm fine! I've suffered worse from the Master's hands! And your puny attacks didn't even do anything to me! ...But it's good you're aware enough to know when you're wrong.."

You blinked... before raising a brow. 

"Careful , Sekido. She's within hitting distance still." A smiling face poked out from behind the first demon and you blinked at the smiling harpy. "Hi!" A taloned hand waved at you. "Sorry for the confusion but I don't think we've met..Uh. We'll I guess we did but we didn't tell you our names. I'm Urogi." Said taloned hand pointed at the red eyed demon. "He's Sekido." Said red demon grunted and rolled his eyes. "The one who played savior is Aizetsu and...Well I guess you already know Karaku from how many times you've kicked him down. How many times was that now? Three?~"

"Quiet or I'll file down your talons next time you sleep!," The green demon, Karaku, threatened with a glare at his laughing brother. 

You rose a brow glancing at the four. They all looked the same. Well same-ish. Sekido and Karaku had a single strand of hair running down their forehead between their horns while Urogi and Aizetsu had more bangs. And they all had different colored eyes and Urogi had different physical features being a harpy obviously. But..Your brow rose looking around them. Wasn't there five of them?

"Wasn't there another one of you?"

"Oh. You mean Zoha!" Urogi chuckled. "Kokushibo's making him finish school. Apparently our little brother isn't mature enough yet in his eyes. He's not too happy about it but whatcha gonna do?" He shrugged. 

"Maybe teach him not to stab me in the stomach." Yes you were still sore about that part. Your arms crossed. "And I thought I said not to talk to me until you all apologized to everyone."

"Well Karaku was gonna tell you before he got distracted." Karaku scowled deeper. "We did when Nakime pulled us all into a call. Kaigaku told us to fuck off and that dum-ass just left without saying anything. Guess he's still salty about what happened."

"Gee. I wonder why." You pointed at Sekido. "You burnt a large chunk of his mansion with your lighting and Karaku destroyed even MORE of it by blowing me away! And let's not forget about you four doing that, kidnapping my son and me, and blowing me away...Twice."  

...A few shuffles were given as well as uncomfortable glances. 

"We were only following orders?"

"You still didn't tell me why Muzan wants Rui."

"Honestly we have legitimately no idea." You turned to Aizetsu. "No really. We don't know. We were only told to find him when Douma reported he wasn't with the others. That's it. We were only tasked with bringing him to the Infinity Castle and nothing else although Im certain we could've gone about it differently." Aizetsu bowed his head slightly at you in apology. "Accept our apologies for that."

You rose a brow at Aizetsu before carefully looking at the other three brothers. Karaku's hurt Expression. Sekido's annoyed face. And Urogi's wide smile. Before sighing. Well you guessed they did what you asked..Mostly.

"You still haven't apologized to Kyogai's servants or to my son yet."

"Servants yes. Son no. We sent a separate letter to Kyogai for them on our behalf since we really couldn't have Nakime call them all separately. It's on its way there now!" You rose a brow back to Urogi. "We really wanted to start courting you so we didn't wait around long."

"They didn't seem to take your apologies very well."

"Does it matter?" Sekido rose a brow back at you. "We did what you asked minus one missing detail. How they take it doesn't matter as long as we fulfilled our end of your deal."

"That's pretty heartless to say...*sigh* But I guess you did do as I asked you minus apologizing to Rui. That's more than I can say some people have done because they're too stubborn." Douma instantly came into mind but you didn't say that.  "But I still want you four to apologize to my son."

"Agreed. In turn we want an apology from him to our father." 

That's when you looked back at Sekido who fixed you with a equal glare crossed his arms. "And from you to Karaku."

"I will apologize to Karaku on the basis that it was a misunderstanding and more my fault, but why should Rui apologize to your father? What has he done to him?"

Sekido grit his fangs and looked like he was holding back a growl. "He. Manhandled. Our fragile father in his old age. That could've severely hurt him."

Huh? Wait. Rui did do that didn't he? That's right. He was chasing Mr. Hantengu all around and waved him around like he was a toy when you first met both of them. That's also the day Mr. Hantengu misinterpreted what you said and engaged you to his-...Wait a minute. Your eyes widened. Mr. Hantengu was the one who engaged you to these four. If you could convince Mr. Hantengu that it was all a misunderstanding then maybe you could convince him to break off the engagements between you and his sons! Then you wouldn't have to worry about them trying to court you! It'd be one less problem to worry about! That was a great idea! You just had to butter him up a bit. And having Rui apologize to them all would be a good start to that.

You nodded in agreement which seemed to surprise Sekido. "Agreed! That can be arranged." You then bowed to him. "I'm so sorry for hitting you and chasing you and your brothers around. And I apologize for hitting Karaku over a misunderstanding. I promise it won't happen again."

Sekido still partially stunned blinked at you before huffing. "That's a start. Then it's agreed. You'll bring the boy tomorrow for lunch to meet our father-"

"That's not good enough." He blinked as you smiled with determination. "Let's meet for dinner tonight instead! Rui would have school tomorrow and wouldn't be able to meet him. Tonight would be sooner and more convenient for everyone's schedules. And I'd love to meet your father as soon as possible."

Sekido blinked .. again. But hummed. "Very well then. The sooner the better. It would be better if you met your new father-in-law as soon as possible."

You tried not to cringe at 'father-in-law' but only nodded again. "Yes. I'm looking forward to seeing Mr. Hantengu again. I'll just have a servant take me to your room."

"That's all good and all but..." You gave a frown as a certain someone leaned over closer to you with a smirk. "Can I kiss you now?~" 

"No way. Excuse me. I have to go explain to the servants why there's chaos around here."

Karaku gave a frown as you just walked away without looking at him and pushing past Urogi who stood in the door way. "....Was it something I said?"

"Nah. I just think you both got off on the wrong foot." Urogi tilted his head watching as you got further and further away until you were out of earshot.. Before smirking and turning to his brother. "But if we're being honest here, I have the best shot at getting a kiss from her before you three do."

"Psh. What? No way." Karaku smirked but his eyes held annoyance at Urogi. ''I have the most experience with romance so it's only natural for me to get that."

"Was that before or after she kicked you three times?"

"HEY! THEY WERE ALL MISUNDERSTANDINGS!!"

"The third time was, Bro. The first two times was because you didn't learn your lesson."

"Both of you are total idiots! You know nothing about what it means to do things without being a stupid pervert!!"

Both brothers looked at him.. before smirking at one another.

"Aw. But Sekido you can't possibly know anything about this," Karaku saying said with a tease making the eldest brother look at him with a glare. "I'm not joking this time. You really have never been in a relationship before this so how would you know?"

"BECAUSE IT'S JUST COMMON SENSE NOT TO ACT LIKE A WOMANIZER IN FRONT OF HER!"

"Well he has a point. Both Karaku and I are the only ones who's even had relationships. Which makes us most likely to actually get a kiss from her," Urogi added earning his eldest brothers glare next. "We're not reading, Kiddo." They were. "But from a statistical standpoint the ones with more relationship experience would be most likely to kiss her." He grinned wider as a figure stepped back into the doorway glaring. 

"I WOULD PROVE THAT WRONG TO BOTH OF YOU PERVERTS AND YOU BOTH KNOW IT!!" 

"Is that so?"

CHIRP!?

Urogi let out a loud sparrow like chirp before jumping forward a great amount ending next to AIZETSU and whirling around with all four brothers looking surprised at your deadpanned form staring at them with crossed arms in the doorway once more. 

"Uh...Y/N!!," Urogi greeted with a weary smile, "We thought you just left."

"I did but I remembered that I forgot something of mine here." 

You pointed at Urogi or more specifically his hand and the walking stick that was in it. Oh right. He took it after you dropped it.h e harpy looked nervously between you and the walking stick and probably wouldn't have given it back to be honest if a strong arm didn't yank it from him and into the arms of Aizetsu. The youngest brother looked tired of his brothers' antics and to avoid getting her angry again decided to return it to her. You were caught off guard by how easily and willing Aizetsu was to walk up to you and just hold out the polished oak walking stick to you. 

"Here. Please forgive my brothers for their behaviors. They mean well but a lot of the time they can go too far past the line. Their bad behavior saddens me."

You blinked in surprise.. before slowly taking the walking stick from him. Your eyes glanced over the stick thinking about something before looking at him thoughtfully. "Aizetsu was it?" He nodded. "You're the one who was bitten by Rui. I remember you now. You were really gentle the entire time I saw you."

"I was only ordered to bring him in, not harm him. I avoid unnecessary things like prolonged suffering and unnecessary pain if I can help it. I saw no need to subject either of you to such things. I also never had a chance to thank you for saving Urogi or myself. Or Karaku for that matter." 

You nodded. "Right. When Akaza was about to pummel him the other day."

Aizetsu looked confused for a moment. "What? Well yes. That as well, but Im referring to keeping Sakura away from Karaku."

At this you were very bewildered looking at him. "Me? What did I do?"

Now he looked even more bewildered at you. "When Sakura challenged you for the right for your engagement to Karaku. You defeated her by combat. We've already been informed about that by Douma."

Your brows furrowed in confusion more. "What? She...insulted Daki."

"Oh yes! We heard about that too!" He nodded. "It honors my brother so much that you fought for him and won. That might make him a bit more giddy than usual which can be a...Lot."

"You mean an annoyance! He hasn't shut up about her winning his hand for days!" Karaku only grinned widely at his brother.

A. Massive. Glass shattering. Noise. Went off. In your head.

You continued to stare at Aizetsu wide eyed before slowly nodding again. "Right. That. ...You don't happen to know where Douma is right now do you?"

"He left for a few days to check back on his commune in the mountains but he'll be back shortly to run the Infinity Castle again. Hopefully he'll be back by next week." He tilted his head at your wide eyed look. "Are you alright? You look a little pale."

You nodded. "Yes...Can you send a message to Douma?"

"Of course I can."

"Would you please tell him that I want to talk to him the moment he comes back?" Aizetsu nodded although he looked a bit confused.  But he paused when you reached up to pat his cheek and a moment later something soft briefly pressed against his lips. "Thanks...I have to go think some things over before tonight. I'll see you then."

Four pairs of bugged out eyes stared on as you again walked out of there angry and dazed. And half a mind to shove the walking stick down Douma's throat!! Karaku and Urogi exchanged a shocked look as Sekido imitated a goldfish opening and closing his mouth. Aizetsu stood frozen. Aizetsu's face went red. Blue eyes rolled upwards. And over he fell to the right in a faint.

****************************************************************************

"I'm not going to apologize to them no matter what you say. You can't make me!"

"Rui, you'll do as you're told!"

"NO! I WON'T DO IT! AND IM NOT GOING TO STUPID DINNER EITHER!"

It had been just some hours later when Rui had returned home and rubbing his head complaining about another small fever he developed which lead to you give him medicine. But now he was tired, hungry, and grouchy and he absolutely refused to budge with you when you explained to him what you were doing this dinner.

"Rui," you spoke on your knees eye level with him and grabbing his shoulders, "We were invited to dinner and apologizing is the right thing to do."

"I'd rather be grounded to my room than admit defeat!"

 You deadpanned. He must've gotten that from Akaza. "It's not bad to sometimes be the bigger man and apologize. And can't you just do this once for me? You don't even have to mean it. You can just say sorry one time and that's it. I promise you won't ever have to say that to them again."

His eyes narrowed. "I'd rather lay sick in bed with a fever."

"Ugh." Why was being a mother so difficult?! Clearly Rui wouldn't budge if you ordered him or tried to reason with him. ...So you tried the third option. Barter and compromise. "Alright. How about this?" You held up a hand to his tired face. "If you agree to say sorry just ONE time and just have dinner with them I promise I won't make you do anything like that eve again-" he frowned more. "-AND I'll take you back to the toy store."

Rui blinked a second before squinting his eyes at you. "... Really? And I can get as many toys as I want?"

"Not all the toys you want. You can get five."

"That's a small price to pay for what they put me through. My pain and suffering is worth at least thirty."

"Not going to happen. How about seven?"

"Twenty!"

"Ten."

"Fine. Fifteen! But that's the lowest I'm willing to go and I get to pick whatever toys I want!"

"*sigh* Fine. But first you have to do your part of the deal and you have to behave during the entire thing. So no kicking, name calling, insults, or being rude or mean to anyone in anyway."

"Agreed. But I won't like it "

"I didn't say you had to. Now let's head over. The sooner we go the sooner we can come back."

"Oh swell."

Well at least it was a start. Plus it was a small price to pay for possibly getting out of another bad situation. You'd gladly take Rui shopping over getting courted by more people. So plastering a smile on your face, you grabbed Rui by the hand and lead the grumpy child out the door but not before snatching up a random gift you still had lying around given to you. A small vase with golden koi fish painted on it. A gift for the host would help break the ice although Rui disagreed.

"They don't deserve a gift. Or apologies."

"Maybe maybe not. But don't tell them that. Remember-"

"I know. Apologize and be nice until we can leave."

"Right!"

You found a servant to take you both to Mr. Hantengu's room and there you all went. One floor up and a few hallways over. It was a plain door but you both stood there for a silent moment. Well...This was it. One thing standing between you and the one other problem. You sucked in a deep breath and slowly let it out. Alright. Just nip this in the bud. This certainly was less scary than talking to Douma so there was nothing to worry about. Sucking in a breath,  you plastered on a polite smile and reached a hand up to knock on the door. Your knuckles wrapped on the wooden door and you drew your hand back. Silence resumed for a few seconds before footsteps approached the door and a second later it was opened more forcefully than you were expecting. The door was practically pulled off it's hinges as a smaller figure wretched it open and you blinked at red and yellow eyes.

A smaller figure looked you up and down before snapping at Rui and doing the same thing before wrinkling up his nose. "Oh. It's you two."

You blinked as the appearance of the figure settled in. He was definitely younger than you. Thirteen or fourteen years old at most and he DEFINITELY looked different than Aizetsu or the other three. But...He still had the same horns as them, and the same black hair and skin tone. They must've been related. This must be the little brother they told you about. And the one that stabbed you in the middle-

You shook that thought off and smiled at him. "Hi. You must be Aizetsu's little brother. I'm Y/n and this is my son Rui. Your big brothers invited us for dinner with you and your father."

"I know." He bluntly said and rose a brow. "You gave them a piece of your mind. Good. It's about time someone knocked some sense into them. Normally I wouldn't bother with you but Father seems to like you and I heard you treat him kindly... Just know that I have my eyes on-"

"S-Son. Who is at the door?" That had to be the quietest voice you ever heard and it made the teenager pause. "I-Is that dinner?"

..The boy sighed before looking over his shoulder and back into the room. "No, Father. It's the girl and that devil child that Sekido mentioned."

"Oh yes. Kind girl, nice girl. L-Let her in."

He sighed but stepped away from the doorway and walk into the room again leaving the door open for you both. Slowly you stepped into the doorway and looked inside and paused when six pairs of eyes stared back at you. Oh. They were already here. The quadruplets all laid around the room in different sitting or standing positions as the youngest brother just stared at you. And smack dab in the middle of the room was a very familiar little old man sitting down on various pillows. Ah. Mr. Hantengu.  He looked the same as he did the last time you saw him...Only...This time he was bigger and not tiny. He looked about as big as you actually.

You smiled at him. "Mr. Hantengu!" You greeted with a bow. "It's so nice to see you again and in such good health! I never got to tell you but my name's Y/n. And this is my son Ru-"

"I'm sorry."

You were interrupted by a blunt and loud voice recognizing  it as Rui as everyone just sort of blinked at the child but he just stood there not saying a word. ...Ok. you supposed Rui did as you asked but you weren't expecting it so soon. Guess you had to wing it.

"Uh. Yes." You smiled and patted the child's head. "This is Rui. And he wanted to apologize to everyone for what he did. We both are very sorry for everything we did and hope you'll forgive us." They looked at one another. You held out the pretty vase. "Here. We brought you a gift." 

Urogi was the one who grabbed it from your hands being the closest to you and happily handed over the vase to Mr. Hantengu, after examining it himself in his hands. With trembling old hands, the older man happily took it admiring it in his hands. 

"A gift. How kind! How kind!" He sounded happy. That was good. "Lovely, lovely. They remind me of the vases dear Gyokko makes."

"Gyokko?"

"The old fish geezer courting out old ma- OW!" Urogi was silenced as Sekido gave him a hard smack to his shoulder and warning growl.

If their father had heard them, he ignored his sons' antics in favor of placing the vase to the side and beckoning you to come forward. "Come here. Come here. It's cold out there. Come sit and talk with me."

You gave Rui one last hard look as if to say 'remember to behave' and he gave a 'cant we just leave now' look in return before you dragged him to walk over and sit down just in front of the elderly man. Pulling Rui down to sit beside you. With a smile you looked back to Hantengu. 

"Thank you for having us. WE are so happy to be here." Rui rolled his eyes but stopped when you side glared at him. "It was very nice of you to invite us and WE are very grateful." Rui only remained silent and annoyed.

The old man nodded.  "So nice, so nice. You're so much nicer than the last rude lady my son's brought home."

"Um. Dad.." Karaku looked suddenly uncomfortable. "Maybe we ...s-shouldnt bring that up?"

You glanced at Karaku. There it was again. The uncomfortable and almost fearful expression. It happened every time someone mentioned Sakura. That woman. What was the connection between that woman and his discomfort? Your eyes narrowed at it.

"Hm? Oh. Was what I said wrong? Rude girl. She was very rude." Karaku looked like he suddenly wanted to disappear much to their father's obliviousness. "She-"

"I heard your sons took your place as Upper Moon Four." You smiled wider interrupting the older man and making Karaku blink your way. "You must be very proud of them." Purple eyes glanced at green ones and they crinkled up in a smile his way. "It's obvious they're very strong fighters."

Green eyes widened as Hantengu hummed. "Hm? ..Oh. Yes. Lord Muzan saw what good sons they were. Such good sons. They are so strong. Such good warriors" he smiled wider before clasping his hands together. "Would you like to hear about their meeting with Lord Muzan?"

"Oh I'd love to hear about how they were chosen but I was hoping to get a chance to talk about the engagements." He hummed confused. "The arranged marriages you made between me and your sons. I think there was a big misunderstanding when it all happened. You see I didn't really-"

"Yes. Good times, good times. I'm very much looking forward to grandchildren." You froze mouth open as you felt the sentence he just spoke hit you like a ton of bricks.

"Does that mean I'm still getting siblings?"

"Wha-...N-No. That's nice but you really are getting off topic here-"

"I remember when my sons were just children," he rambled on a hand scratching his chin, "When Sekido was young he was the most stubborn boy ever. Got into many problems. So many problems. Sometimes he'd just do things you told him not too because he hated being told what to do. I remember one time I told him not to get into a vase but he tried to climb in anyways and he got his head stuck inside."

Sekido burnt a bright red and grinded his fangs against one another in embarrassment and Urogi snickered not so quietly at him. "Haha! Yeah. He had that vase stuck on him for hours."

"When Urogi was little he used to be so scared of his own wings." Urogi froze mouth open. "Every time he flapped them as a baby he'd instantly cry and wouldn't stop until my wife held him. She was such a caring mother. So good at calming him down. Poor thing ran away from his own feathers every time one fell off. We couldn't start teaching him to fly until he was nine years old."

"Oh. That's surely interesting. But about those arrangements-"

"Did you know Karaku used to be so shy around ladies? It was so much different than he acts now. So different."

Whelp.

You never got to speak with Hantengu about how much of a mistake the engagements were. But did hear about the many exploits that Sekido's stubbornness caused him to get into. How clumsy a little baby Urogi was with how big his wings were compared to the rest of his body making his waddle and trip over a lot. How Karaku broke basically everything as a child and once nearly blowing their mother out of the house with his wind. And of course how shy and nervous Aizetsu was. Oh! And flowercrowns. Aizetsu just loved flowers as a child and would get SO dirty playing in the garden with his mother. By the end of all the rambled, Rui had fallen asleep leaning against your side, Sekido just gritted his teeth and harshly gripped his tunic in silence, Urogi hid behind one of his wings, Aizetsu looked like he wanted to sink into the floor, and Karaku just tried to make himself look busy by stuffing his face with what food was in front of you all.  Only Zohakuten looked perfectly fine with what was going on. Smiling VERY amused at his older brothers' obvious embarrassments while slurping up noodles.

"-AND then Urogi fell right out of the tree. Poor thing. He used to be such a clumsy little chick. My wife always took such good care of all of us. She was so kind, so kind. Unfortunately she is no longer with us. Having been taken by bird flu."  He sighed and Zohakuten paused next to him in the middle of eating. Almost flinching. "Sad day. Sad day for everyone."

You blinked. "Oh. I'm so sorry." Bird flu? You didn't think a demon who could regenerate could be killed by a case of bird flu. Unless...You glanced at Urogi's frozen, hidden form. Unless she was some sort of bird. Was their mother some kind of harpy demon as well? It might explain why Urogi looked so different from his brothers and Father. "I'm sure she must've been a very beautiful woman. You must've been so lucky to have her."

"Understanding. You understand me so well." He sighed. "It will be so good to have a lady in the family again." 

"Actually about that marriage. I think there was a misunderstanding." You quickly said before he could have a chance to start rambling again. "There was a mistake and I wasn't really agreeing to-"

"Akaza mentioned that you were hesitant to agree, but I was so happy, so happy when Lord Muzan agreed to it. He was always such a wise man."

You paused. "Wait. What?" ...You shook your head. "You mean Akaza was already able to tell you?...Then there is the mistake." You smiled. "Since Akaza explained everything you surely must know that I mistook the entire situation so the engagement isn't valid-"

"Oh. We know about that." Aizetsu still looked embarrassed but was now poking a piece of chicken with his chopsticks. "THAT engagement wasn't valid but then we got a new engagement with you when the Master engaged you to us. So only he can break the engagement legally."

Your body froze more as the entire reality was slapped across your face and laid out at your feet. Rui snorted waking up as You still sat there frozen. He blinked tiredly before stopping at your bowl of udon...and sliding it over to him. He then tugged on your sleeve and you handed over the chopsticks. You hadn't used them anyways. And Rui fell asleep before he could get his own plate.  Muzan...was the only one who could break off any engagements?

....

THAT STUPID COAL HEADED ASSHOLE!! YOU SWORE IT WAS ON SIGHT NEXT TIME YOU SAW THAT ASSHOLE AND HIS STUPID SMUG SMILE!!!

You slowly inhaled and it took everything in you to stay polite and not lose your cool. "Oh. I did not know that." You strained through gritted teeth as Rui gobbled up the food greedily. "Thank you for telling me. Oh. But it's getting late and Rui has school tomorrow. I think we'll be leaving as soon as he's finished eating."

And do you could put Rui to bed so you can lose it without anyone seeing you.

"Oh. So soon? Must be, must be. Everyone needs sleep. But before you go, p-please do not be angry."

You blinked before raising a brow confused. Could Mr. Hantengu sense your anger for Muzan? We're you not hiding it good enough? You didn't want to upset the elderly man. After all he was innocent in all this chaos.

"Oh. I'm not angry at you at all. I'm sorry if I came off that way-"

"Oh no." He smiled raising a hand out to his left. Perfectly leveled with Karaku's ear."I did not mean me at all. Not at all."

"YYEEOWCH!!"

You blinked and Rui jumped slightly blinking at the sight of Mr. Hantengu, the old man who looked as weak as a leaf and too scared to even hurt a fly, remained seated calmly and still didn't change his expressions as he literally wrangled Karaku by a pointed ear and tugged him down a level. Said green eyed demon winced and hissed with one eye closed wincing as his father tugged on him.

"I thought my sons would know better than to be so bad to you." His other hand reached out to his other side so quickly you didn't even see it happen.

"OW!!"

You blinked at the sight. One moment he was just holding Karaku by the ear, you blinked, then he had both Karaku AND Sekido by the ears. Between Sekido and Mr. Hantengu was Zohakuten who had quickly snatched his food off the table before Sekido could knock it over and the youngest brother looked amused once again. 

"I was informed on what shameful behaviors they've demonstrated to you. Even just today they shame our family. Especially these two. I thought my two eldest would know better than to display such vulgarity." Both brothers kept wincing and cursing lightly as they were literally forced to bow their heads. "Please forgive their stupidity. They are young but they can learn. WILL learn." He spoke all of that on the same soft elderly tone but you felt that last part was a threat. At them not you.

"Oh. It's alright. They already apologized for all of that so it's forgiven." You narrowed your eyes. "As long as they don't do anything like that again."

"They will not." Urogi snickered from beneath his wings. A hand shot straight through the feathers and there was a turkey squawk sound of panic as a second later Urogi was yanked out into view nearly falling chest first onto his table and food. This time Mr. Hantengu had his entire hand wrapped around his son's ear. "Flying away with her like prey?" Karaku was now free from their father's grasp as winced as he rubbed his sore ear. Sekido Wasn't so lucky and was still stuck in that position now with Urogi. "Perverse words and actions. Acting like spoiled children not sharing a toy. You all should be ashamed of yourselves. Your mother would molt her wings right off if she saw how shameful you all were behaving right now." Oh. So his wife was a harpy demon. "Do you not have anything to say for yourselves?"

"We are very sorry!", Aizetsu piped up and winced afraid he might be next.

"Ow! But we already di- OW!" His father gave a harsher tug. "OK OK!! YES! IT'S NOT FUNNY!! I APOLOGIZE FOR IT! WE ALL DO!!"

Mr. Hantengu looked at Karaku who froze under the old man's gaze.

"Um...S-Sorry!!"

Mr. Hantengu looked at Sekido.

The red eyed demon hissed scowl now present on his face. "I... deeply..regret..my...actions." He forced out between gritted fangs. Well...that's the closest thing to an apology from him you'd get you supposed.

Zohakuten snickered this time. Mr. Hantengu slowly turned to him. A hand left Sekido finally and the youngest brother froze as a hand lightly grabbed his ear and tugged in warning.

"...I-I also feel ashamed of how I acted."

If the situation wasn't so serious, you would've laughed. "Thank...you? But I'd rather have them apologize to my son for what they did to him."

A look was given to the five. A murmers of more apologies came again in fear of the old man's wrath. And you sighed. Well this was a wasted opportunity. Mr. Hantengu wouldn't be able to help break the engagements off at all, but at least perhaps his influence would help keep his sons in check and not lead to anymore incidents. And everyone apologized to one another so maybe tensions would go down. Rui just rolled his eyes and went back to his food. Mr. Hantengu finally let go of the boys who all winced or looked guilty. 

"Now this is good. So good. You can court nicely now." A pat on the head was given to Aizetsu."You first for being so nice. Go court tomorrow. It will be a good time."

"What?" Both you and Aizetsu said at the same time.

"Then Sekido will be nice and take you to dinner." Sekido only frowned deeper but remained silent."Then the other two may follow. There will be no more arguments or fight. Bad fighting." Rui pushed the plate away. "Now Sekido be a nice courter and walk her back home."

"Huh? Oh no he doesn't have to do that-"

"Nonsense. Back in my day you had to put yourself out there like a gentleman." He waved at Sekido. "Off you go."

You weren't sure how this happened exactly. One moment you were sitting there in a daze, the next you were holding Rui's hand and awkwardly walking back to your room with Sekido silently frowning next to you. The red eyed demon remained silent the entire way across multiple halls and one floor down until you were back in front of your doorway again. Rui didn't pay much attention to Sekido and only slipped inside without another word ignoring anything else while rubbing his eyes. Well..Guess he deserved it. He kept his part of the bargain. Although now you were stuck with letting him get a lot of toys. Sigh. You noticed Sekido hadn't moved an inch from where he stood and just stared at you with a frown. You awkwardly cleared your throat and smiled.

"Well...this is it. My room." 

"Obviously."

"Yyyeeesss...Well thank you for walking me back and for inviting us to dinner. And uh...sorry again for everything else. Hopefully that's all settled now."

"Yes."

You continued to stand there awkwardly as he still just... stared at you. Well..this was awkward. Was he waiting for you to go inside your room? You slowly pointed to the door. 

"Well..I suppose I'll be heading to sleep now."

"Two days after tomorrow I will come and court you properly without the interference of my brother," he bluntly said catching you off guard.

You blinked at him... before raising a brow. "You're really serious about this aren't you? Which I don't understand why. I know why your brothers do but I can't understand why you would." You deadpanned and crossed your arms. "Is it just because you want to increase the chances of me marrying into your family?"

He gave a loud grunt of slight annoyance and furrowed his brows. "You're proven to be worth my while. You really don't remember?"

Not wanting to start another fight, you pretended to remember and just nodded. "Oh yes. I remember now. It's getting late however so I'll be turning in. Goodnight Sekido."

And then you turned and walked through the door without giving him another chance to talk. The door closed behind you and you just...stared bewildered at nothing for a moment. What could he possibly have meant by that? You decided to just shrug it off and get back to bed. It was going to be a stressful next few days and for now you just wanted to sleep it off. So tiredly you flopped uselessly on the bed with a sigh and closed your eyes. Letting sleep claim you.

And then you were running through the forest at night.

You had to hurry back to Rui. The blue demon in your arms was quickly deduced to be poisoned and Rui had bitten him a while ago. He was dazed, almost unconscious in your arms, and you feared what could happen further if Rui couldn't help him. You didn't want anyone to die! But there was still hope. You had to get there! You tripped over a bit letting out a frightened scream but righted yourself and continued to ru-

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!"

You stopped digging your heels into the dirt and leaving skid marks as you slowly came back to a stop and perked up at the direction of the scream. That..sounded like a man's voice. A faint splash made your ears perk up. A second later a darkened shadow shot through the trees and back towards where you left the green eyed pervert. Kaigaku...That was Kaigaku! He had been fighting the red eyed demon. Was he hurt!? Was he the one who yelled!? 

"KAIGA-"

"Kido..." You jumped as a hand weakly grabbed your kimono front and for a moment weak blue eyes looked up at you. "..help...'em.... can't...swim.." the eyes closed and the hand again went limp against your body. 

Kido? Who was that? One of the demons who attacked you? You didn't have time for this! You had to get to Rui! This man could die! ...But... Your head turned in the direction Kaigaku ran away from. What if someone else was hurt? Even more than the man in your arms? ...You made off towards the direction you heard the screaming from. You had to hurry. Someone could need help. Bushes and trees branches hit your body as you ran as fast as you could carrying the demon in your arms. Tree after tree. Shrub after shrub. You yelled skidding to a stop barely stopping in time before you could trip over into a large pond.  It appeared out of nowhere after you jumped through a bush. You blinked at it. Well it was certainly smaller and more shallow than the lakes you fell into with that yellow eyed demon. You looked at it scanning the surface of the water...and blinked at the bubbles just coming up to the otherwise calm surface. Something was under there. And it looked to be in trouble!

You quickly laid the blue demon against a nearby tree away from the water, turned, and started quickly into the water. Your legs splashed as they descended into the water and towards the furious bubbles. But it didn't matter. You were already wet from falling into a lake earlier. You approached the bubbles and panicked as they abruptly stopped. Oh no. Were you too late?! You shoved your hands quickly under the darkened water and felt around wildly. You felt what was a branch, some mud at the bottom of the pond, a few rocks, hair-..... HAIR?! Without thinking you latched onto that strange thread like strands and PULLED!! The water burst as you quickly yanked something out of the water. Something else gasped and coughed and you blinked as something swung from your hand. Something ALIVE.

IT WAS A LIVING DECAPITATED HEAD!!

You nearly screamed and dropped it back into the water... before calmer yourself as the memories of the previous demons losing their heads came back. Calm down. Demons could live despite being decapitated. You managed to calm down and take a closer look at the head. It.. definitely was alive. The mouth hung right open and gasped for air and coughed despite not having any lungs. Black hair stuck to its face as you held it blocking out the view of its eyes. Slowly you reached your other hand out and pulled the wet hair from the face. Red eyes blinked at the new clarity and the both of you paused staring at one other.... before the head growled at you.

"YOU!?" You jumped nearly dropping the head. "GREAT!! FIRST THAT DAM LOWER MOON AND NOW THE GIRL!! KARAKU WAS SUPPOSED TO SUBDUE YOU!! I CAN TELL THE IDIOT FAILED AT THAT AGAIN!!"

You rose a brow before you maneuvered the head to hold the head in both hands gently in a more comfortable position than holding him by the hair. Without a word you turned and just walked back to the bank.

"PUT ME DOWN!! I'D RATHER GET MYSELF OUT OF THE WATER THAN ADMIT DEFEAT TO A HUMAN!! DO YOU HEAR ME?! STOP!!"

"You'll die before your body or whoever it is who helps you comes by."  You looked back to the head and tilted it and he continued to have labored breaths. As if he was... choking on something? "Do you have-.." You glanced at the bottom of the head. Kaigaku had cut off most of the neck with the head. "...Water lodged in your neck still?"

"NO- *COUGH*"

There was again more coughing as he gagged and seemed to flex his throat in a way that told you otherwise....You tilted your head at him watching his reactions before getting an idea. You waited for him to stop for a second. Then took a deep breath and before he could speak again you smashed your mouth to his making him instantly freeze and pushed air forward. Something gave from his throat. He felt something shoot out the bottom of his neck. His throat instantly stung. As soon as the lips pulled away he coughed and hacked and gasped the newfound burning cleared airways. She watched him for a moment before continuing up out of the water and onto the bank and farther up from the water.

"You'll be alright now." He stared at you with an almost blank expression as you smiled and the calming smell of Aster flowers hit his nose. "I can't take you with me since you're the biggest threat,  but I can hear your body getting closer. So I'll leave you here instead." You leaned down and placed the head gently between the roots of the tree as if he was made of glass.This will work. The roots would prevent the head from rolling back into the water. "I have to go help your friend now. But you'll be ok." 

A gentle hand soothed over his cheek and you smiled before getting back up and quickly making your way back to the blue demon. Again he was hoisted into your arms bridal style and you bolted back the way you came. Unbeknownst to you a heartbeat was pounding away from someone behind you.

You gasped out sitting up to stare at your pillow. Panting you looked around your own room until your eyes landed back on your pillow.... before flopping back onto it groaning deeply. 

"I need to charge money for saving dumb demons."

[yurisorcerer]

Ouch.

This episode follows up on Mahiru's request, from Kano's mother Yukine, to do art for the Sunflower Dolls, Kano's old idol group. The fallout from that request, and what Mahiru does with it, is immense, sprawling, and messy. It's also the best episode of Jellyfish Can't Swim in The Night, trumping its electric premiere episode by being an almost total inversion of it; emotionally, thematically, even visually. What I wrote below, I wrote *as* I was watching the episode, because the thoughts came to me in such a torrent that I knew there was no way I'd remember everything I wanted to write about if I didn't get it down in type first.

Kano's overwhelming feeling of negativity being conveyed by the actual video blurring lightly in and out is a nice touch

her meeting with Yukine makes it clear that this is a VERY LARGE SCALE PROJECT she's being tapped for. Mahiru rightly wonders why, exactly, she's being considered for this, although Yukine claims that the connection b/t Mahiru and Kano has nothing to do with it.

Yukine is quite obviously a very manipulative person. An oscillating technique of telling Mahiru what she wants to hear, lightly criticizing her, and then circling back around works wonders, which she finishes by, basically, promising her the world.

In any other show I'd question myself as to whether or not Yukine was really that bad, but Jellyfish has not historically been very subtle about signalling its characters motives. This is setting aside her (or is it Kano's?) flashback where Kano becomes "Nonoka." Her mother controlling her style and manipulating her talents for her own ends is pretty vile.

"I want to one day nurture an artist who sings to 50,000 people." The max capacity of the Tokyo Dome. It's always numbers with this show.

Although again, Yukine roping her daughter in to this whole thing for Yukine's own sake as opposed to her daughter's is, again, rough.

Especially when the show strongly hints that Yukine is responsible for the Rainbow Girls, a rival idol group, going on hiatus after breaking some scandal. (Via the same LookIdiot yt channel that is mentioned earlier.)

Kano's dad? Also this is where we see Kano seeing the jellyfish mural for the first time. (And them inspiring some off-the-cuff lyrics which she takes the time to jot down.)

Kano honey, please just say something to Mahiru.

Oh, it's not Yukine, it's the Sundolls' former center Mero. (Which gives us our final contextualization of the incident that broke the group up in the first place prior to the start of the show.)

The show again whips out its more experimental inclinations by swamping Kano's recllection of events in a painted, blurry haze, and drowning the dialogue out with an equally thick gauze. Of course, the next day, she still tries to pretend she's fine.

I have previously criticized this show for feeling contrived, but someone splitting from the little indie group they came up with for a bigger opportunity is probably the single most realistic conflict the show has yet had. God bless Kiwi and Mei for trying to smooth things over, even if it obviously doesn't work. Kano's blow up at the end, and the subsequent revelation that the reason she's been having all of these flashbacks in the first place is that she just had a huge falling out with Mahiru. As she lays in her bed, the show's obsession with numbers---followers, seating capacity, whatever---is revealed as a trait of Kano herself, inherited, in the worst possible way, from her mother. Ouch. My fucking heart.

The recap of where we've been up to this point, from Kano's perspective, at the end of the episode, is just absolutely ruthless. I feel gutted. And yet, in this absolute buckshot blast of emotional devestation, Jellyfish seems to find its footing all over again. As a wise man very recently said, sometimes you discover yourself when you fall short.

[magnumdays]

Season 5 wishlist

(in no particular order, mixed with random pics from my Magnum PI pics folder)

Miggy in the Ferrari lots

Something with MI6 (i love my spy stuff)

TC and Thomas being the best Uncles

Magnum and the lads bonding (spoiler says this might be happening)

More thoughtful Cade/TC moments but also Cade having some contact with his other family showing he can have both

The picnic hike happening

Higgy's dad showing up/ visit to England

The whole gang just having wholesome hang outs

Running gag that Miggy never get to go/finish any of their dates

Suzy deciding to give Rick a chance after he's kidnapped... Maybe, I do see her reasoning about just being awesome co-parents and that would be interesting to explore in practice

Love to see an end to the Ivan story even if it seems unlikely

Another haunted/psychic revelation episode because those are always fun

Kumu being awesome and babysitting

Higgy almost drowning and getting a reference back to 'Blood in the Water'

Also Magnum and Higgins babysitting and talking about the baby issue

Bernardos wedding (let's say he cancelled the first one or maybe them coming for a late honeymoon)

Juliet's tattoo

TC has that favour he still owes what's his name with the shrimp truck

Big bad of the season being awesome

Magnum getting all upset both during and after the kidnap episode (we know kidnapped Rick an Juliet is confirmed)

Higgy and Magnum going under cover as a couple with Rick and TC being around, having to pretend they're not together!?! (Is this one weirdly specific? Yes. Would it have been a fan fic if my muse had not gone on sabbatical? Also yes.)

Gordon being a mess but then getting his life back together, more kid and (ex) wife stuff but less of them being put through the ringer...

Lots of Miggy banter with a sexier touch

Lots of serious talk miggy moments

More cool cars

TC and his girl side plot fun, something similar to Juliet and Ethan at the hotel (only I can enjoy it)

No Higgy maybe having to leave l. We've done that enough.

Though I would love an old spy frenemy showing up and trying to convince her to go with him for like a mission/to keep her family safe and instead she kick his as$. Another weirdly specific one slightly similar to A Marriage of Inconvenience (this version not written due to muse strike/stress)

Going out in the boat

Military flashbacks but clearly connected to the present, like a case or maybe big bad of the week

Dinner party murder mystery (And then there were none style)

Shammy, Rick, TC, Juliet and Kumu showing up for Gordy when he be going through stuff even when he be not wanting them too

Beaches

Miggy fluff cuteness domestic bliss/annoyance

I would love a proposal when they're being shot at/ hiding from bad guys but I'm thinking that probably comes season 6!?!?

Higgy in a wig

Undercover in general just love it

Magnum trying to be a supportive bf by joining Juliet for hot yoga and totally half dying doing it

Or like Higgy at Yoga and the yoga studio gets

Also this... more of this...