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kanmom51 · 4 years ago

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JM JK timeline.- my observations how they grew over the years - 2017

Disclaimer: these are my own opinions and conclusions. Feel free to disagree, but hate or aggression will be unacceptable.

2017 - part 2

12 Feb 2017 – “You never walk alone” preview show. Who’s JM’s little cutie?

14 Feb 2017 – JM Twitter post – the boys with matching jackets. I know. I said not Twitter, but sometimes rules are made to be broken.

17 Feb 2017 – Hobi’s birthday. JM to JK: “stop coming to our room at night.” There’s something about JM throwing JK under the bus time after time. It’s like he enjoys to see JK squirm.

22 Feb 2017 – Gaon Chart K-pop chart – JK ushering Hobi to another seat, so that JK can sit behind JM. JM turning around see this, rolls his eyes and smirks.

24 Feb 2017 – KBS Music Bank comeback - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4_ASZuLeVk&t=156s

Another one of my favourites. A perfect example for both boys hesitance, wanting to touch, but just not getting there.

JM putting arm behind JK, but holding on to wall behind, and then matter of factually laying it on JK’s shoulder.

JM micro touching, or brushing JK’s hand with his thumb.

Prior to JM brushing JK’s hand with his thumb, JK’s hand is heart signing to JM.

The minute JM moves his hand away, you see how the expression on JK’s face changes, then he rubs his hand where JM touched him.

24 Feb 2017 fan meet – are they in actual F… sending flying kisses to each other?

25 Feb 2017 MBC music core comeback – JK moving Hobi aside, so that JK can stand behind JM. JK being JM’s number 1 fanboy.

26 Feb 2017 – Wings – you never walk alone fan sign. Really JM? What was that neck grab and what exactly were you doing there???? No, I don’t believe he kissed JK’s neck, but it sure was ‘out there’, so much so that Jin was in total shock when it happened. JK was surprised by it, and I think that even JM was shocked by his own actions waling aimlessly in what seems like the wrong direction .

28 Feb 2017 Run BTS episode 12. This one for me was cringe worthy, at some points I felt like an actual intruder. JK the detective and JM the prisoner. JK whacking JM on the behind (remember JK is the younger – how bold). JM’s private dance for JK. I know the episode was mostly scripted, but I seriously think JM was surprised by that smack to his behind. Also, the way JK was looking at JM when he was dancing all heart hands for him.

12 March 2017 - Wings tour Santiago Chile

Santiago day 2 – JK suffers from exhaustion. As he is taken back stage to a treatment room, JM is the one to race after the team into the room.

JM is in the treatment room when the cameras come in. He is standing there, and later, as the other members are walking in, JM is by JK’s side, helping the medical team lift up one of his legs.

The rest of the members come in together to see how JK is doing, and when the medical team suggest to take off JK’s pants, all the members leave the room. All except for JM, who stays there with JK the whole time.

JM leaves the room only together with JK, after he feels better and is able to walk out of the room on his own two feet.

Wouldn’t you expect RM, being the leader and all, to be the one by JK’s side? Or J-Hope maybe? Wouldn’t that have made more sense under the circumstances? Why JM?

Because, clearly JM is the one JK feels closest to, the one he can be himself with freely, the one he doesn’t feel embarrassed or needs privacy from.

JM may not have been a family member, but he was the closest thing to it. JM to JK is and was his home, his safe place, and most certainly the one to be by his side when he was in distress.

March 2017 BTS Live trilogy episode the Wings tour in Santiago Chile & Brazil.

March 2017 BTS Live trilogy episode the Wings tour in Chicago.

April 2017 3rd Muster dvd – the muster was at end of 2016, but dvd was released in 2017. During photo shoots they are being posed by the photographers. Yes, there will be authentic moments between them, but sometimes it’s hard to tell what’s real and what’s being directed. That’s why I don’t always like to add these to my timeline. Even so, they were so cute, so I couldn’t leave this one out.

3rd April 2017 – BTS Front row live entertainment interview – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UotjcB_X4ag . What happened there?

This one intrigues me. I watched and re-watched the full interview several times, and for the life of me I can’t see what happened there between JM and Hobi that triggered JK’s reaction? JM’s placating look at JK, like telling him nothing happened… this one is used a lot to create the JK jealous narrative, and to be honest, I really don’t know what happened there. When JK turns back, JM looks into the camera with an uneasy gaze.

After that, most of the time, JM looks lost in his thoughts, not happy. Towards the end they are asked what artist they would want to collaborate with, and Suga’s answer makes them all burst out in laughter, all accept for JM. When he is asked and answers, you also see he is unhappy. You can easily see something is bothering him. JM just wasn’t his happy own self. He looked pensive. BTS did several interviews and had a concert that day, so maybe he was just tired or wound up, but he just wasn’t acting like himself.

April 2017 - Bon Voyage 2 Hawaii

Highlights of the highlights: The but checking and identifying (are we taking skinship to another level, are we??).

JK getting drenched at the beach, JK getting drenched period. Lol.

JK gobbling down piping hot Pizza so JM can eat.

JM playing footsies under the table with JK, all while sitting opposite V.

JK edging JM to come along calling him “Aegyo” = “Baby”. J

M making sure JK doesn’t go hungry, buying him food with his own money. JM taking care of JK.

JK and JM on same team – the joy… Spending the day together and just being happy.

Did JK really lose the game on purpose so he can be in the room with JM?

The amount of times we hear Jimin-ssi in every kind of cute and flirty way JK can say it…

Bonus:

22 April 2017 JK Vlive – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5n8y3D0Z9pM .

JK doing everything to get JM back to his room while playing loud music.

JK’s face lighting up when JM returns to his room.

JK telling JM he looks handsome without makeup.

JK pissed off when V comes in too, saying “why is everyone coming?”.

When V touches JK’s ear, JK pushes him away.

JM moving off camera to fix his robe, and JK not taking his eyes off him.

V putting his foot on JK’s back (this is something I have seen V do a few times, it’s not a gentle touch, to me it feels more like asserting dominance), and JM pushes him off.

And what exactly did JM mean when he said he has no talent for games but “I was quite good at it a year ago”? Only to be followed by the stare, OMG, the stare. Why, oh why did V have to ruin the moment, eh?

22-23 April 2017 Bangkok concert. Flirting on stage, attention to each other.

24 April 2017 Eat Jin Vlive with JM and JK - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqxX_UGXSlY .

Jin complaining why JM doesn’t hit him like he did JK, so JM hits him too. Lol. JM stealing the steak JK cuts for himself, while JK lets him, smiling. The way JK just lets JM get away with anything, even interfering with the ultimate ‘ship’ - Jungfood.

3 June 2017 – J-14 magazine interview - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7rXl8uuUTY&t=306s . from 3.33min. to 4.37min especially.

Wtf was JM up to there????? It looks pretty dubious, especially when you look at the faces on the two of them when it was going on. Up to your interpretation.

2 June 2017 – Ceremonial first pitch at baseball match – Hanshin Koshien stadium - JK and JM’s jersey numbers – coincidence or not?

12 June Festa 2017 BTS BangtanTv – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWA6f7g7NUQ&t=2s.

JK’s intense stare at JM, when JM joined the others in with the others when they were laughing at JK eating everyone’s food but not ordering any for himself, which causes JM to immediately stop laughing.

Poor JK being blindsided when it was pointed out that the only one he bought a birthday present for last year was JM. Oops. (why oh why JM did you throw him under the bus like that??? You were curious? Really???? JM keeps doing this) Poor boy was so embarrassed. Hobi was the one to actually save him, stating how generous JK has become lately giving away his things that he didn’t need. JK never answered the question.

27 June 2017 BV2 special commentary live – JK getting all flustered when asked to explain the difference between BV1 and BV2. JM looking at him, enjoying every second.

4 August 2017 - KBS Music Bank Singapore. JK not loving on Taemin. The way he turns around the minute JM and Taemin interact, and the discontent look on his face…cold. He’s not a happy camper. He glancing in the direction a couple of times, but he is mostly turned away from them. And when JM runs up to slap Taemin in the butt, JK sees this, averts his head, and just keeps walking off the stage. He is clearly upset. Besides the obvious faces he makes, not waiting for Jimin when walking off stage is not something he usually does. Was it jealousy? Was it just a disliking of Taemin specifically? And if he dislikes Taemin, why is that? We can’t know.

OK now, I know I said that I won’t be doing Twitter, but this one I felt I had to (again, oops):

On the 6th of August 2017 JM posted a photo he took during their Hawaii trip (BV2). Why take this photo, and why post it? Do I really have to ask this question?

29th August 2017 the famous, or infamous People Now “arrest me” interview - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgGxcMndEk8 .

I couldn’t find the actual date of this interview, but it was uploaded end of August 2017. I really enjoyed this one. Everyone talks about JK’s “arrest me” JM mishap during this interview. The members reactions are to die for.

Can someone tell me please what Suga told JK in Korean before they moved on?????

Also, JK’s reaction when JM said he wanted to collab with Suga (watch from 7:58min), was like:

W H A T in T H E actual F U C K???. LMAO.

Summer package 2017 – released August 2017.

JK and JM being all playful by the pool. JK letting us know how adorable JM is to him when he is swimming doggy style in the pool.

The one that stands out to me, though, is the ‘dream catcher necklace saga’. Felt a little uneasy to see that one, like I was witness to a lover’s tiff.

The boys were given a budget each to purchase themselves a gift. They are taken together to a gift shop, where they check the merchandise out and each buy themselves a little souvenir. When they all sit down to show each other their gifts, that’s when this moment happens.

JK takes out his gift. I once again want to emphasize, this is a gift he bought with his budget for himself. He explains it’s a dream catcher and says he will put it in his room.

JM, sitting next to him, takes it from JK and says: “this is a necklace Jungkook-ssi”.

JK blurts out adamantly that he won’t hang it around his neck.

This is when things get awkward, because you can see JM is clearly upset, throws the necklace back at JK and says: “OK, then”.

JM has a dream catcher necklace around his neck too, and when it’s his turn to tell what gift he bought himself he takes the necklace off and gives it to V, saying he bought the gift for V, who had a nightmare last night.

After JM’s mini tantrum JK, who previously adamantly professed he will not put it around his neck, does everything he can to put the necklace on, finally turning to JM to help him put the it on, which he does.

Later on, while sitting for the personal interview, with the necklace around his neck, he tells us how from now on he won’t have nightmares.

What did I get from all that?

Clearly JM was pissed at JK’s reaction. Why? JK clearly bought this by himself for himself.

But did he? Was it something he chose for himself, or was it something JM suggested to him?

JM also bought a dream catcher. Was that a coincidence? For some reason, I don’t think so.

My theory is that the dream catcher is something JM suggested or wanted JK to buy for himself, and JK reluctance to wear it offended him. JM clearly bought the other dream catcher for V. Perhaps he wanted both his boys to have one, and to him, JK’s comment felt as a rejection.

The way JK reacted to JM, his immediate change of attitude towards the necklace, trying to put it on, when only a second earlier he said he won’t put this around his neck, shows how attuned he was to JM, how he immediately realised he did something wrong, something to upset JM, and how he tried, in his own way, to atone for it, by wearing the same thing he but seconds ago rejected.

This brings me back to the point I made about the boys relationship, and them finding the balance. A perfect example to how there will still be conflict, but how JK realises, immediately, that he had done wrong and what he has done wrong, and immediately sets to right the wrong, hence to restore that balance.

JM throwing the necklace at JK. Also, notice the editor’s remark. JM’s anger is obvious not only to me.

To be continued...

#jungkook #jimin #jk #jm #jikook #jikook are real #jikook timeline #kookmin #bts #BV2 #jikook 2017

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geekgirles · 3 years ago

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Your Heart

Chapter 4 -- Stalemate Word Count: 8284

READ ON AO3

Waking up to the sound of her parents’ latest invention going awry was something she was sure she was never going to get used to. Never mind that she’d have an entire life to get accustomed to it or her newfound respect for what her family did for a living.

As disciplined as Jasmine Fenton was, being awakened by an explosion was never going to be anything but annoying.

Sighing resignedly, Jazz yanked her covers aside and got up, ready to start a new day. After showering and getting dressed with a long-sleeved, white dress shirt, a black ribbon tied tightly around its collar; a matching black, a-line skirt over thin grey tights; a teal blazer over her shirt, and brown ankle boots (which went well with her brown leather shoulder bag); she first made her way down the stairs to her parents’ lab.

Absent-mindedly combing her pixie cut with her fingersーa decision she made after 18 years of rushed haircuts due to having been covered in some sort of unknown ectoplasmic goo after an invention explodedー, Jazz cut straight to the chase. “Let me guess, your latest invention just ‘malfunctioned’”, she air-quoted.

As she expected, Jack and Maddie were hunched over a metallic device that had definitely seen better days, if the smoke coming off of it was any indication...What she wasn’t expecting though, although she should have, was her dad’s answer. “Actually, that was just the Fenton Toaster. We were about to start the day with a healthy, ghost-kicking breakfast, when she failed on us.” Had she been sixteen again or literally any other person in the world, Jazz might’ve actually been taken aback by the fact that her dad was tearing up over a toaster. Then again, she was Jazz Fenton and this sort of thing from her dad was as common as him yelling obscenities about ghosts. “Oh, dear friend. We hardly knew ye!”

Rolling her eyes at his dad’s antics while her mum patted his shoulder in an effort to comfort him, Jazz muttered, “Dad, that toaster’s almost as old as Danny…” Who, by the way, was going to be ecstatic to learn the dreaded toast-drying machine from Hell had finally been vanquished.

Speaking of her little brother, “Where’s Danny, anyway?”

Again, to any other family in the USA but the Fentons, that question would have seemed stupid. Danny was a college student who lived at his university’s dorms with his best friend, so the chances of him being around his childhood home during the school year were pretty slim. And, again, they were the Fentons, and her little brother had been going back and forth from his dorm, to Fenton Works, to the Ghost Zone (not like their parents knew, or even needed to know, about that one…) since he first got into APU.

Maddie left her weeping husband’s side to pick a wrench up and start working on the toaster again ーpoor Danny; it seemed the evil, toast-drying machine from Hell was harder to get rid of than Vlad. “Sorry, sweetie. You missed him while you were doing your research. Your brother was here yesterday; he said he came Sunday night because he couldn’t find his dorms’ keys. But he’s back at college now.”

She suddenly stopped tinkering with the busted toaster’s inner workings, taking off her goggles from her face, a pensive expression plastered on her face. “Hm...I know Danny’s always been a little distracted, but he keeps losing his keys. At this rate he’s going to end up sleeping on the street just because he can’t get inside his own home!”

Recovering from his temporary loss of composure over the Fenton Toaster ー“I love you, guys, but it’s a miracle this family hasn’t been studied by professional psychiatrics already. Not like I didn’t give it my best shot…”, Jazz thought to herselfー, Jack was soon standing right beside his wife, towering over the pile of scrap metal with a matching pensive expression of his own.

That couldn’t be good.

“Now that you mention it, sweetcakes,�� he said, “you’re right. Danny’s always losing stuff!”

“Right?” Maddie insisted. “Don’t you remember, back in his first year of high school, when his English teacher, Mr. Lancer, called you over because Danny’s pants kept falling several times just that week?”

“Uh...the memory’s a bit blurry, Hon, but I know what you mean.” In truth, Jack didn’t remember any of that. All he knew was that he suddenly found himself chaperoning a homecoming dance. If only there was a way to get your memories back like those keychains that you attached to your clothes… And then it hit him. “I know, Maddie! Why don’t we make one of those keychains that you attach to your clothes so you won’t lose them for Danny?”

His wife beamed at that. For all his scatterbrained-ness, Jack truly was a talented inventor with a creative mind. Just a fuzzy head. “Oh, that sounds marvelous, honey! I’m sure Danny will love that!” She exclaimed before quickly pecking him on the lips.

Unbeknownst to her parents, Jazz grimaced in worry at the idea. Back when she was sixteen, or any other day, really; she’d have been overjoyed at the idea of her ghost-hunting parents creating something that was absolutely non-ghost-related, but since said idea would make it more difficult for Danny to keep his secret from them...She was just glad she was in town to look over him. Trying to appear supportive rather than dismayed, Jazz chirped, “Yeah, great idea, Dad...What are you going to call it? The Fenton Keychain?”

“‘The Fenton Keychain?’” Jack parroted before scoffing. “Of course not, Jazzy-pants! I was thinking something more along the lines of, ‘The Fenton Fermoir’!” He announced, striking a dramatic pose.

The blue-eyed young woman started at that, taken aback. “Wait, ‘fermoir’? Isn’t that French?”

“Yes, it’s an adjective that means ‘that which closes.’”

Gaping at her dad, Jazz blinked. And blinked again. And blinked a third time for good luck. “...you know French?”

This time, it was her mother who answered her, laughing her question off. “Oh, yes. There’s more to us than just ghost-hunting, you know?” Then she and her husband laughed together at her own joke.

“Could’ve fooled me…” Jazz mumbled.

“What was that?”

“Nothing! Um...oh, right. So Danny’s not here today, huh?” Her parents shook their heads. “That’s a shame, I wanted to ask him how things were going with...um...with, you know, school and all that. Oh, well! I’m sure he’ll tell me some other time.”

Jack and Maddie exchanged a glance. Ever since Danny started going to high school, their kids often acted weird. At first, they blamed it on adolescence, making them want to make an identity for themselves outside of their parents’ influence but not knowing exactly who they truly were, either. But the fact that their eldest child was 23, their youngest 21, and they still acted like that sometimes was a bit concerning.

The wrench in her hand long forgotten, Maddie made her way to her daughter’s side. She draped an arm around her shoulders, not noticing that said arm was the one holding the aforementioned wrench and that she was unconsciously pointing at Jazz’s face with it. “Honey, is there something about Danny we should know about?”

Jazz panicked.

Yes.

Yes, there were so many things about Danny they should know about.

They should know their kid had gone through a terrible accident that changed his life forever at the tender age of fourteen. They should know he got ghost powers he spent agonising months trying to get control over. They should know he only ever wanted to protect innocents from ghosts and yet, he was labeled as a menace by the very same people he was trying to look after. They should know he’d not only been carrying the burden of being Amity Park’s unofficial protector since he was fourteen, but also became the king of an entire dimension and could count the people he could rely on with his hands. They should know he went through his very first serious heartbreak because the girl he liked hated his ghost half more than she liked him. They should know their college best friend was a fruitloop who wanted to kill Dad, take Mum from him, and either kill or adopt Danny; because, really, it all depended on the side of the bed Vlad woke up on.

They should know their only son was risking his life even more now because he’d made a deal with the Queen of the Witches of Amity Park who, judging by what Danny had told her, was the embodiment of a death sentence.

And he’d been carrying all those burdens and responsibilities, facing constant danger, making decisions not even full-fledged adults would find easy to make, and had been aimed at with ecto-blasters by his own parents since he was fourteen. Being Danny Phantom had stolen some of the best years of his life away from Danny Fenton.

And they had no idea of any of that.

But how could they, when Danny refused to tell them the truth?

Every time Danny faced a bigger threat than dealing with ghosts of the same caliber as the Box Ghost, Jazz tried convincing him to come clean to their parents. Because, what if they never saw him again after that battle? What would she tell them, then?

But Danny would not budge. And, Jazz remembered, she couldn’t blame him. With the entire town, barring a dedicated fan club, and a good chunk of the Ghost Zone against him, how could he risk losing one of the very few places he could call home? Just like she told him when he asked her why she never said anything about his secret, it was his secret. Only he could talk about it with Mum and Dad.

“Jazz, honey? Is everything alright?”

Her mother’s voice broke her out of her stupor. She must’ve spaced out for a while, for her parents were looking at her worriedly. Flushing sheepishly, she cleared her throat. “Yeah, I’m fine. Don’t worry. And don’t worry about Danny either. He just…” What was that excuse he told her he’d use if anyone started asking questions again? Oh, right. “He’s just busy working on a paper to help me with my own thesis, that’s all.”

Okay. So not only was it a lie, but it wasn’t exactly what Danny told her to say, either. Her little brother decided to respond saying he was suddenly very interested in the occult because he was writing a paper on a seminar he’d signed himself up for, but since she went back to Amity Park to study the witches there, it was still a good excuse.

Said excuse seemed to calm her parents down, before they fully registered her words and they seemed worried again. But, she knew, this time they were worried for her.

“Uh, Princess? Are you sure you want to focus that thesis of yours on...witches?” Jack asked warily, looking up from the remainers of the Fenton Toaster.

The redhead rolled her eyes in annoyance; there they went again. “Your father’s right, sweetie. While not necessarily a bad topic...erm...it’s not exactly the easiest one to research.” Her mother tried to discourage her gently. “For starters, most of the records we have are nothing but speculations and hearsay… I mean, the Salem witch trials were mostly based on unfounded accusations!”

How two of the world leading experts in ectology, who defended the existence of ghosts long before their theories were proven correct, could be so convinced there was no such thing as witches was beyond her. Arbitrary scepticism, much?

Jazz had to admit, she understood her family’s surprise when she opted to focus her thesis for her Cryptology class on the legendary women. A psychology undergraduate, a woman convinced of the infallible nature of the scientific method since birth, and an aspiring psychologist since she was sixteen, it was understandable that her decision to minor in Cryptology would come as a surprise to...well, everyone.

But protecting your half-ghost little brother from the shadows for the last seven years had a way of making you question everything you once thought you knew.

After all, if such a thing as ghosts weren’t only real but had an entire dimension for themselves, then who was to say such a thing as magic-wielding women couldn’t exist?

The moment Danny told her and Tucker he planned on asking them for help at the beginning of Fall only cemented her decision. It was a real pity Danny refused to disclose the supposed location of the Amity Park clan for her safety.

“Mum, Dad, I’ve told you already. It’s precisely because of all those myths that I want to study them. For all we know, all those potions that are always mentioned in folklore could just be really advanced medicine. Are we really going to turn our backs on the scientific community like that?”

“And that’s a great idea sweetie! But…” Maddie tried reasoning with her, but nothing came to mind. Awkwardly, she turned to her husband and whispered harshly, “Help me out here, will you?”

Jack didn’t need to be told twice. “What your mother’s trying to say, Jazz, is that, if there was evidence on the existence of witches, we’d already know. Don’t forget, your ancestor, John Fentonightingale, was a celebrated witch hunter during the time of the Salem trials. He was an admired and respected member of his village, but the only thing he ever did was send innocent people to be burned alive.

“When he eventually realised what he’d done, he spent the rest of his life lamenting his shortsightedness; rejecting the fame and glory his witch-hunting days had brought him. And even if he ultimately turned to ghost-huntingー”

“Goodbye, fame and respect.” Jazz mumbled.

“ーthe hole in his heart caused by his actions would never be filled again.” Jack finished his tale with a morose expression, hoping Jazz would understand what he was trying to say.

She didn’t. “Okay, that was a very moving story with a valuable lesson on the dangers of letting fear and paranoia overtake us. But what does it have to do with me?”

Still standing by her daughter’s side, Maddie tried comfortingly rubbing her arms with the hand that wasn’t holding the wrench. “We’re just trying to warn you not to jump to conclusions, because you might regret it.”

Okay, that was it. Her parents were in no position to warn her against jumping to conclusions; they lost that right the day she finally understood they’d been unknowingly talking about ripping their own son apart ‘molecule by molecule’ ーright in front of him. Jerking away from her mother’s touch, she put her hands on her hips as she sent them her most meaningful look.

“For the last time! I’m not going to try and, I don’t know, rally up the entire town against the witches! I just want to study them. You know, learn about their culture, about the origins of their abilities, about the differences between fact and fiction...” she shot them a pointed look as she stressed that last part. “I just want to understand them!”

“But you don’t even know if they exist!” Jack protested as she made it to the stairs.

Hearing her dad’s comment, she turned to face them once more. Oh, she knew they existed alright, that much Danny had been able to clue her in. What she didn’t know was where to find them. But she couldn’t tell them that. “Well, that certainly didn’t stop you from building a ghost portal to another dimension you weren’t even sure existed! And it sure as Heck won’t stop me!”

That last comment should be enough to get her parents off her back for at least a couple of days. But the conversation had put her in a bad mood, something that didn’t happen since she learned to appreciate her parents’ ghost-hunting abilities, or, when it was Danny who was being pursued by them, their lack thereof. Stomping out of the house and slamming the door closed behind her, Jazz angrily made her way to the usual starting point of her quest.

The Amity Park Public Library.

The large granite building was supposed to be completely white, but the decades since it was built had washed out the stones, making them look grey-ish instead. The several steps leading up to the entrance were flanked by two lead lion statues resting atop a block of stone each. The front of the building, on the other hand, was both decorated and supported by numerous columns, with two of them at either side of the wooden door.

Despite the impressive sight, what truly mattered lay behind its doors. Walking inside, Jazz let herself be washed over by the smell of ink and paper so characteristic of the library. Wherever she looked, hundreds of books stood proudly on their shelves, some of them so high up that the only way to reach them was with the help of stairs.

Scattered around the library were several tables and plastic chairs where the visitors could sit to read their latest acquisition or work on the projects that brought them to the library in the first place.

Breathing the scent in, Jazz walked over to the little counter located right at the entrance of the library, where the librarian would usually be working on her computer. Whenever she wasn’t out and about organising books, that is.

Jazz waved at her with a smile. After coming to the library to study for years, she was basically a regular by now. “Good morning, Wilhelmina!” Wincing at her unintentional high-pitched tone, she lowered her voice to barely a whisper. “How’s everything around here?”

Looking up from her computer, the pudgy woman smiled knowingly at Jazz before willing her chair to get closer to her. “Good morning, Jasmine. It’s been so long since I last saw you; when was it again, two days ago?” Wilhelmina joked as she leaned in closer to the redhead, intertwining her fingers as her elbows rested on her desk.

Jazz flushed slightly at the harmless jab. “What can I say? You won’t get rid of me so easily!”

“Don’t I know it…” There was something odd about the way the librarian said those words, but the redhead decided to let it go. It was probably nothing, either way.

“I wanted to ask you if you could recommend a book onー?”

“On witches?” The auburn-haired lady finished for her. Seeing the young woman’s embarrassed hint of red on her cheeks, she chuckled. “Oh, don’t be so surprised, my dear. You’ve been asking for the same thing for almost a month now! It’s just nice seeing someone retain some sort of interest for this old place and its books. Nowadays, most people just come here to surf the net for free.”

“Well, you won’t have to worry about me for a while, then! So, the books?”

Leaning back on her chair, Wilhelmina pointed to a faraway aisle. “Try the History section. I’m sure there’ll be a journal or something to help you with your paper.”

Jazz flashed her a charming grin, “Thanks, Wilhelmina. You’re the best!” As she turned her back on the librarian, Jazz failed to notice the dark grin that made its way to her face.

Once Jazz was out of earshot, Wilhelmina said, “Oh, you have no idea,” the twisted expression never leaving her face.

As she walked around the library’s endless halls, Jazz couldn’t help but be grateful for having Wilhelmina as the librarian. Any other person would have looked at her like she was crazy or a Satanist murderer in the making for researching the occult so much, but never Wilhelmina. The woman just smiled at her and tried helping her to the best of her abilities. If Jazz had been looking for information entirely on her own, she’d have stuck to a particular section of the library, but Wilhelmina was always recommending a broader search. And, Jazz couldn’t help but think, it was a smart choice. One never knew what they could find or learn if they listened to different experiences other than their own.

Standing in front of the shelf where the history books were, the aqua-eyed woman began scanning for something that might help her clear up the fog surrounding the group of witches Danny might be facing from now on. If she could just find out where their hideout was supposed to be… Not only would she be able to study them, but she might even convince them to ally themselves with her brother for good!

Ever since she was a teenager and found out about her brother’s secret, Jazz was determined to focus her thesis on the effects such circumstances could have on him. But as time went by, she came to understand that would be impossible. Writing a thesis on Danny’s very unique circumstances would be akin to exposing him, and she couldn’t do that to him.

Because he trusted her.

Danny’s number of enemies increased tenfold by the day, while his allies followed a much more stagnant rhythm. Goodness, he couldn’t even get his girlfriend to give up ghost hunting for him! She and Tucker were the only two people in all of Amity Park he could rely on.

And there was no way she’d ever betray that trust.

Which, sure, was a very meaningful proof of the love and bond between them, but still left Jazz without a topic for her thesis. So when Danny revealed his discoveries on the existence of witches, of all things, she was ecstatic.

The possibility of a magical species living in Amity Park was perfect on many levels. On the one hand, it would expand their knowledge of the paranormal, with the added bonus of finding potential alternatives for everyday problems. And on the other, it gave her the perfect excuse to stay close to Danny and make sure he was safe. With her in town, he wouldn’t have to make up excuses as to why he slept in Fenton Works when he already had a perfectly nice place to stay at APU. All he had to do was phase through her room to get to his.

And, most importantly, that way he had somebody else he could talk to about his double life. He was going to need it if he’d indeed managed to establish a truce between the spellbinding women and ghosts. From what he’d told them, those sorceresses were vile.

As she walked over a nearby table carrying a pile of books with both hands, Jazz couldn’t help but wonder how her little brother would handle the situation.

.............

Danny was not handling the situation well.

Although, it wasn’t necessarily his fault. Lady Arcana’s own unwillingness to cooperate was a key factor in their stalemate.

Even if they addressed each other formally and obvious jabs directed at their respective species were, thankfully, non-existent, the coldness between them that reigned during their first face-to-face interaction was now stronger than ever.

Just like the last time, he’d sent Skulker to escort the queen and her entourageーwhich still consisted of the same two witches; talk about confidence…ー through the Ghost Zone up until they arrived at his lair’s throne room. They still pretended they were both honoured to be in each other’s presence even though Danny was sure the Witch Queen wished she could just spit at him as much as he did.

And knowing Desiree, if she were near to grant her wish, a cascade of spit would rain down on him.

This time, however, Danny had ventured deeper inside his lair, with the witches close behind him. Figuring discussing over inter-dimensional safety in the middle of his throne room would be unwise, since one never knew who could be watching, he led his guests to the Council Room; where the Observants, Clockwork, and heーand occasionally Frostbite or any other ghost with a modicum of authorityーgathered to discuss political affairs regarding the Infinite Realms.

Admittedly, he wanted to slap himself for not thinking about it sooner.

Another thing that was different and he had failed to point out earlier was that, technically, the witches weren’t alone. No, there was nobody else besides the queen and her two...guards? ーcould he even call them guards?ー but they weren’t alone per se, either.

The bespectacled, strawberry blonde one had a pet owl perched on her shoulder. The bird, Danny had to admit, was beautiful. Its plumage was predominantly white and cream. The white feathers were more noticeable in its belly and heart-shaped face, with most of its body and the top of its head looking rather creamy. The owl’s black orbs seemed not only capable of seeing in the dark, but also deep inside your soul.

In other words, the girl’s pet was pretty, but creepy. And he had a feeling that would be a stable of these women.

The Asian teenager seemed to prefer reptiles, and, yes, he based his hypothesis entirely on the fact that the girl had a bearded dragon around her neck as if she was wearing a scarf. Danny couldn’t tell what was creepier; the lizard’s naturally spiky, scale-covered body and its little tongue licking its eyeball, or the way the witch scratched her pet’s chin and cooed at it when she thought nobody was paying attention to her.

“Well, it could be worse. She could buy herself a cat and name it after a married woman who will never love her back.” Danny had to physically restrain himself from shuddering at the thought.

But the weirdest thing, of course, had to be Lady Arcana’s own companion. Which, again, he was sure was going to be a stable between them. At first he didn't even see her carrying anything, her form obscured by her cloak, but the moment they entered the Council Room ーalone; Lady Arcana had stationed her witches to guard the doors, just as he did the same with two of Walker’s goonsーand she made herself comfortable (or as comfortable as she’d ever be in enemy territory), he spotted it.

Had she really brought a potted plant with her all the way from the portal to his lair? And, now that he took a closer look, was that a carnivorous plant?

Scratch whatever he said about the teenager and her lizard. The way the plant nuzzled her face or wrapped itself around her forearm as she gently stroked its stem was ten times creepier. Although, a part of him couldn’t help but think she and Undergrowth would get along swimmingly.

Two plant-loving psychos bonding with each other. Talk about a meet cute.

But never mind their questionable taste for pets. They’d been discussing for over an hour and they were still at the starting point. Time was money and this woman was going to make him go bankrupt if they kept going like this.

“Your Majesty, I understand the situation is quite...extraordinary, but I’m afraid we are still in need of a solution.” He tried for the umpteenth time that hour.

The woman before him just sniffed in displeasure. It was a good thing they were separated by a rather large, rectangular table, otherwise, he might have leaned forward and wrung her little neck out of sheer exasperation. “I am perfectly aware of the situation, King Phantom. But, as I have informed you already, there is not much I can do if I do not know the cause of the portals opening.”

But that was precisely why he needed her help! Getting frustrated, Danny let out through gritted teeth, “Which I believe is precisely the reason why I need you here in the first place, my Lady. You are supposed to be able to discover the reason behind it.”

“Well, supposedly, these portals are a natural occurrence of the Ghost Zone. How is it possible that you do not know how to take care of the problem on your own?” She countered, matter-of-factly, and Danny would have given about anything to get her to shut up and do something useful instead.

“Supposedly,” he echoed, “your people have the natural ability to surpass the laws that separate the Infinite Realms and Earth from each other, and hence, youーshouldーknowーhowーtoーcounterーit!” His voice raising in volume as he spoke, he made sure to punctuate that last part for emphasis.

Narrowing her violet eyes at him in disdainーhow could he have ever thought they were beautiful?!ー, Lady Arcana spat. “Supposedly, that bond was tattered after your kind’s betrayal.”

If it weren’t for the audacity of her statement, he would’ve recoiled at the gravity and resentment etched into her words. Narrowing his own eyes at her, he leaned forward. “Trust me, your Majesty, you would be wise to keep your mouth shut; you are in no position to talk about betrayals.”

As her scowl deepened, teeth borne at him in anger, a low growl could be heard emanating from her throat. But Danny was not going to be intimidated that easily. Returning the intensity of her gaze, the two kept eye contact, initiating a staring contest born from frustration and distrust.

Eventually, the Witch Queen averted her eyes, crossing her eyes in a huff as she leaned back on her chair. Her little plant reacted to her turmoil, for it hopped over to her ーwait, it hopped?!ーto get her attention. Noticing her weird-ass pet near her, the witch began to absent-mindedly caress its little, purple...head?

He was never eating a salad again in his life; he ought to let Tucker know he’d decided to join him in his carnivorous ways.

Leaning back against his own chair, Danny pinched the bridge of his nose, exhausted. They’d been at it for more than an hour and, rather than discuss a possible solution, all they’d done was argue. Sighing through his nose, he called out to her, an idea forming in his mind, “Hey.”

Taken aback by his sudden drop of formality, Sam looked over at him with a guarded expression. What was he up to? Rather than answering, she raised an interested eyebrow as a sign to go on.

Danny took that raised eyebrow and her silence as permission to continue. “How about we drop the honorifics and formality for a while, huh? I don’t know about you, but I’m a rather laid-back person and having to address someone as if I was meeting the Queen of England tends to stress me out. And that by extension makes me much more prone to get defensive.”

Sam bit back her reply that she was, in fact, as much of a queen as the Queen of England, and that he should treat her as such.

“And let’s be real; getting defensive with each other is going to get us nowhere, don’t you agree? Besides, I’m already stressed out as it is due to a matter regarding a black hole forming, so I bet I’m not the most agreeable guy to be around right now.”

“No, you aren’t”, Sam was actually surprised Phantom shared her beliefs about formality and social distance. But that didn’t mean she was going to lower her guard around him. And his last words took her completely by surprise. “...did you just say ‘black hole’?”

“That’s not something you should concern yourself with.” He dismissed the question immediately.

Squinting her lavender eyes at him, her suspicions of any ulterior motives never quite going away, Sam gave in. “What are you getting at?”

At least she was listening to him. He was willing to count that as progress. Danny raised his palms up in mock surrender. “I’m just saying, we don’t know for how long we’re gonna have to work together. So how about we’re at least casual with each other? Because, I don’t know about you, but all this higher register of speech is giving me a headache.”

As if to prove his point, Danny rose up in the air until he was comfortably floating about three feet high. As he leaned back, his arms crossed behind his head and one leg over the other, nothing would’ve wiped the smug look on his face as he looked down on the Queen of the Witches of Amity Park, her own jaw hanging low in awe.

Noticing the smugness radiating off of him in waves, the raven-haired girl forced her jaw shut. No way in Hell was she going to give him the satisfaction of amazing her. Even if she wasn’t going to say it aloud, Sam concurred with his point. Straightening her back, head held up high, she made sure to bruise his ego the same way he almost bruised hers. “Fine. Let’s drop the honorifics, I was tired of pretending I have any respect for you, anyway.”

Danny frowned at that. “Hey!”

“What? Do you seriously expect me to believe I’m not in immediate danger of being attacked by a ghost just for the mere fact of invading their turf? That you and your people actually respect mine?” Her voice was laced with cynicism as she scoffed. “Yeah, right.”

As much as Danny would’ve loved to contradict her, he knew he couldn’t. After all, he hadn’t just sent Skulker to escort them in fear they might get lost, the possibility of them being ambushed by vengeful ghosts was very real.

The raven-haired girl smiled triumphantly, knowing she had him right where she wanted him. “If it’s any consolation, if any of you so much as tried stepping foot, or ghostly tail, or whatever, into our territory, not a single one of us would hesitate to exorcise the Hell outta you.” Motioning to the door with her head, she added. “Susan in particular would have a blast.”

“Susan?”

“The teenager with the bearded dragon; Count Scalynton”

“‘Count Scalynton’?” Danny echoed in disbelief, before having to stifle a laugh with his gloved hand. Seeing the Witch Queen’s unamused stare, however, he sobered up. “And...uh...what about...the owl?”

“That’s Spooky.” Lady Arcana replied with a shrug of her shoulders.

“And your little friend?” He asked hesitantly, pointing at the potted plant comfortably perched on its owner’s lap, but making sure his finger didn’t get too close; in fear of getting it bitten off.

“Oh, this little guy?” Sam looked down at DeMilo with a fond smile. “His name’s DeMilo.”

“...are you serious?”

“You got a problem with that?”

“No! No, no. Of course not! DeMilo is...uh, a great name.” He quickly assured her, sheepishly. The last thing he needed was to invoke her wrath, again. Clearing his throat, Danny decided it’d be best to change topics. “So...No honorifics?”

“No honorifics.” Lady Arcana nodded from her chair.

“Right. So, instead of ‘your Majesty’, ‘my Lord’, or ‘King Phantom’, you can just call me ‘Phantom’ and Iー”

“You can just call me ‘Lady Arcana.’” The Witch Queen cut him off with a tone that left no room for discussion.

The white-haired young man slouched slightly at that. Just when he thought they were making progress, she closed herself off completely all over again. But he couldn’t afford displeasing her further, so he’d have to play by her rules...For now. “Right. Got it. So...about those portals?”

As he asked that, Phantom leaned forward to her, changing his position mid-air so his torso was facing now upside down but his head remained straight. As the Ghost King lowered his body so his forearms were atop the wooden table, an intrigued gaze directed at her, Sam deposited DeMilo on the table, her own hands resting on it. Locking eyes, they had each other’s undivided attention.

Understanding they were back to business, Sam sighed tiredly. “I wasn’t lying when I said I need to know the cause behind the portals’ strange behaviour. If this is something that can be solved through magic, then it is imperative that we know what’s causing it to figure out the best course of action to take. The wrong spell could lead to disastrous consequences.”

“Like?” Phantom raised an inquisitive eyebrow.

“Like sending the world to another dimension instead of closing a portal between dimensions.”

“I guess that makes sense. So how do we figure out the cause?”

“I can start by looking through this.” Sam offered as she, seemingly, got a book out of nowhere, Phantom’s eyes widening at the sight. The reddish-brown leathered book was the same one she used to open the portals to the Ghost Zone, which made it their safest bet for finding a solution. After all, if the book guarded almost forgotten knowledge on how to open inter-dimensional drifts, then it should have the answers to more mysteries, right?

...............

Outside the Council Room, on each side of the door, Stephanie and Susan were patiently waiting for their queen. Well, “patiently waiting” might have been an exaggeration. Stephanie was stiff as a board, while Susan looked like a furious guard dog, the murder in her eyes only cemented the picture.

Both witches’ emotional state could only be attributed to one thing.

Ghosts.

Or, to be more precise, the two police-dressed, green spirits they were forced to stand guard alongside because the Ghost King wasn’t about to be caught dead (pun not-intended) with three witches and no back-up.

As much as she hated it, Susan had to give the spook credit: he wasn’t nearly as stupid as she thought.

The teenager kept stroking the length of Count Scalynton’s body, currently sprawled alongside her arm, as she pondered different ways to escape the Ghost King’s lair and his ectoplasmic, door-floating, bloodcurdling realm in case things went awry.

Beside her, Stephanie was lovingly scratching Spooky’s beak in an attempt to calm herself down. Looking over at the ghost-guard assigned to her, she squeaked and promptly looked away when the spectre, having felt her gaze on him, landed his blood-red, pupiless eyes on her. Gulping loudly, she whispered to Susan. “Do you think her Majesty will be frequently meeting Phantom from now on?”

Susan whispered back with a sneer. “I hope not! Miss Wilhelmina was right when she warned me against these putrid, soulless drones. We can’t lower our guards, especially not now that the queen needs us.”

Discreetly pointing with her head, the Asian girl guided her partner’s gaze to her hips. Lifting her red hoodie almost unnoticeably, the strawberry blonde’s eyes widened at the sight; two crossed, leather bandoliers were filled to the brims with an assemblage of jars containing colourful liquids. Stephanie’s jaw almost fell open in shock; the 17-year-old girl was armed to the teeth with potions!

Realising they weren’t alone and the dangers in their secret stash being found out, Stephanie tried to appear nonchalant. Pretending to be talking in general, she added. “I just hope her Majesty is safe.”

Susan gave her a wry smile. “Oh, trust me. Her Majesty will be fine even without our help.”

...............

As she skimmed the pages of the spellbook in search of more information on the portals, Sam kept looking over at Phantom, praying he hadn’t noticed anything unusual.

As satisfying as it’d been seeing his bewildered face when she suddenly pulled the book off seemingly out of nowhere, the truth was she’d been carrying it with her under her skirt. But what she worried about was not him finding out about the book, but the other items her dress hid from plain sight.

Strapped around her thigh was a black holster filled with potions. Unlike the arsenal Sam knew Susan had brought with her, which consisted of several offensive and highly corrosive concoctions, the queen’s own collection consisted mostly of Blinding Bombs. As the name indicated, it was a type of potion whose main purpose was to distract the opponent long enough to retreat or come up with a plan. If things went south, all Sam had to do was smash the jar against the ground and cover her eyes, for a small explosion of light would ensue and temporarily blind the spirits, giving her and her girls enough time to escape.

As she leafed through the spellbook’s pages, she suddenly shivered, noticing a cold presence by her side sending shivers down her spine. What was even odder was the sudden smell of something she couldn’t quite put her finger on. Dumbfounded, she turned her face to the side and growled at the sight. Snapping the book closed and bringing it close to her chest, she snarled at Phantom. “What do you think you’re doing?”

Taken aback by her sudden movements, Danny blinked. “Um, trying to help you?”

He had to be kidding her. “Come again?”

“I...uh...I just thought I could help you look for answers.” He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. “So I was trying to see if I could find anything useful in that book of yours.”

Oh, he definitely had to be kidding her. “No, thank you.” She turned him down, only thanking him out of politeness. She turned back to the book. “You’ll only drag us down, anyway.”

Danny was starting to get really frustrated with that all-knowing, condescending attitude of hers. Even his sister wasn’t as annoying despite her know-it-all tendencies. Hell, Skulker was easier to work with! Standing up in mid-air, using his leverage to stare her downーliterallyーhe folded his arms in front of his chest. “And how, pray tell, am I going to drag us down?”

He was surprised by the witch’s next action. Huffing loudly, she got up from her chair and shoved the book in his face quicker than he could blink. At first he had trouble registering what just happened (mostly because he was levitating a good three feet above her and she was still safely on the ground) until he took notice of the sparkly, purple mist surrounding theーfloatingーspellbook. He blinked in awe; so that’s how her magic looked like. Once the initial surprise had worn off, however, Danny had to admit, he was a little disappointed; he’d expected more than a floating book.

Looking over the tome, he saw Lady Arcana staring intently at him. Instead of anger as he expected, however, an amused, knowing expression adorned her features. He might’ve thought she looked pretty hadn’t it been for the wickedness of her smile.

“Read.” She instructed him.

Danny did as he was told...only to furrow his brow in confusion. What the…? Reading over the pages he couldn’t make sense of anything written on them. The inked markings splattered all over couldn’t even be considered hieroglyphics! Squinting at the offending piece of paper, he tried reading aloud. “Spiral...lightning bolt...spork?...What kind of sick mind came up with this?!”

Sam let out a hollow laugh. “You really think that if you were really able to read this book in the first place all by yourself, you’d even need to call for me?” She rolled her eyes at him, not knowing what to think; either this guy was messing with her head or he was an idiot. She motioned with her hand for the book to return to her “Limit yourself to keeping your subjects in line and let me handle this. Although, on second thought, I might actually be asking way too much of you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” The green-eyed ghost didn’t like where this was going.

Still reading, Lady Arcana raised her palms up in mock surrender. “I’m just saying, for a ghost that’s supposed to be the undisputable ruler of an entire race after having defeated a tyrant, you sure have a lot of detractors defying your authority.”

“Oh, please! Like you know anything about my subjects or any possible detractors.” Was it true he was often fending off ghosts who didn’t care for his laws to stay clear of Amity Park? Saying he didn’t occasionally get his ass handed to him would be like saying his parents took kindly to people who disrespect their jumpsuits, but he didn’t have to tell her that.

“I know more than enough.” Sam countered.

“Oh, yeah? Name one ghost who doesn’t respect my rule and still causes trouble.” The halfa challenged. What was he trying to get out of this? At least ¾ of his enemies screamed their names and evil plots whenever they were freed from the Ghost Zone! In Ember’s case, she literally depended on people knowing and chanting her name.

“That poacher ghost of yours...what’s his name?”

A poacher ghost? Who the fuck was she talking aboー? “You mean Skulker?”

Sam perked up at that. “Yes, that one! He so obviously doesn’t respect your authority. I mean, he literally hunts you, the Ghost King, for sport almost every two weeks!”

An undignified sound escaped the halfa’s throat, but that was the last of his concerns at the moment. “Okay, first of all,” he started, raising one gloved finger, “he so totally respects my authority. Whenever I need help, he’s always willing to put the whole hunting-the-most-unique-specimen-ever aside for the greater good. And second,” he sent her a pointed look, floating closer to her. He revelled in the way she uncomfortably shrunk away from him; served her right, “Skulker’s not a poacher, he’s a hunter!”

“Does he have a permit or a hunting license?” Lady Arcana asked, not missing a beat.

That actually gave him pause. “Well...no, butー!”

“If a hunter hunts with no permit, then he’s a poacher!” Seriously, how dense could this dude be?

“You seem to be forgetting that Skulker is a resident of the Ghost Zone; my domain. Whatever laws are followed on Earth or among your kind, do not necessarily apply to us.”

“That outta shut her up,” he thought triumphantly.

“So you’re saying you’re okay with innocent creatures dying solely for the purpose of flattering one ghost’s ego?”

Well, apparently not. Danny spluttered at that. Who was this woman anyway, Jane Goodall?! “Whaー? No, of course not!” He vehemently denied before changing topics. This woman was about to get a taste of her own medicine. “But what’s with all these pointing fingers anyway?! I bet some of your ‘loyal’ witches also commit their own atrocities right under your nose.”

Oh, she was going to blast him into next Thursday for that! Standing up from her chair, Sam slammed her hands against the table (careful not to hurt or startle DeMilo, though). “For your information,” she snarled at the ghost before her, “the only huntress in my clan is Diana. And not only is she formidable, sheーalsoーhasーaーpermit!”

Fed up with the ridiculous conversation and the even more ridiculous woman, Danny slammed his own hands down on the table, even if he was floating. “Again with the permit! What’s with you and permits?! What are you, a cop?!”

“I’m a queen!” Sam all but roared. “So, yes, it is my job to ensure certain jobs are only trusted to people with permits!”

Danny was about to continue ranting, but he stopped himself. All this pointless fighting was only making them waste time, and they couldn’t afford that. He didn’t understand how she wasn’t already exhausted from all the arguing. Rubbing his face with his hands, he let himself fall back on his chair. “Let’s...let’s just keep on investigating. Forget I said anything.”

Sam was about to retort when she took notice of the white-haired ghost’s tired eyes, her own fatigue finally kicking in. Slumping her shoulders as she, too, fell back on her chair once again, she continued reading. “Yeah, sure. That’ll be for the best.”

They stayed in silence for a while after that. Lady Arcana reading intently, and Danny praying to all things above him that he’d be able to survive the day. Eventually, the Witch Queen broke the silence, slamming her book shut. His head snapping up at the sound, Danny dared to hope. “Any luck?”

The queen sighed. “I have good news and bad news. Which one do you want to hear first?”

His heart sank. “The bad news,” he moaned pitifully.

“Bad news is, there’s nothing in this book about what could possibly be causing the Ghost Zone to create more portals than usual. The most it has is the spell I use to get here, but that’s about it.”

Danny was convinced his heart was now lost somewhere along his knees. “And the good news?”

“This isn’t the only book that might have information on the Ghost Zone. When our people parted ways for good after you-know-what,” the look of resentment was back on her face and Danny didn’t know what to do; he should be the one feeling offended! “most of our knowledge was forgotten, but not lost.”

“Meaning?” He prompted her to finish her statement.

“Meaning, there’s still probably many more books on the topic.” She finished.

“Which means…” Danny began, only for the two of them to groan in dismay. As nice as it was that not everything was lost just because that particular book didn’t have the answers, having to look for another spellbook or grimoire meant they would have to keep meeting with each other. For Lady Arcana would never leave a precious heirloom belonging to her people out of her sight and in the Ghost Zone, and Danny couldn’t afford to take his eyes off of her in case she and her kind double-crossed them.

In other words, they were stuck with each other until further notice...He was starting to regret not being fully killed by the accident the day he got his powers.

#danny phantom #dp #dp fic #my fic #your heart #danny fenton #sam manson #jazz fenton #jack fenton #maddie fenton #oc #Amethyst Ocean #ghost king au #witch queen au #ghost king! danny #witch queen! sam #enemies to friends to lovers

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loekas · 5 years ago

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The amazingly talented @boku-no-tokyo-ghoul made these gorgeous aesthetics for my Pirate Queen Daenerys. I have no words for how amazing these are. They capture my Daenerys’ essence exactly. This is the best gift ever. I tried to find a quote to add from the fic itself, but I couldn’t find one that could do these works of art justice. So I added an entire scene from the fic instead. Heads up, it’s a Jonerys fic.

A Storm In The North

Jon finds the Pirate Queen standing over the Painted Table, a ringed hand trailing along the Eastern shore. She’s put on another colorful skirt but still wears no coat, her upper body draped in nothing but golden jewelry. When Jon manages to tear his eyes away from the parts of her he really shouldn’t be looking at, he finds that Daenerys Targaryen lacks the exuberance she exhibited yesterday. Instead she's pensive, solemn even. Her eyes follow the path her hand trails along the coast.

Her hand halts on King’s Landing.

“How many people live in King’s Landing?”

Jon stills at the unexpected question. While he’d made no move to keep his approach hidden, he’d assumed the Pirate Queen to be too lost in thought to have noticed his arrival. She’d given no reaction to his presence after all.

Perhaps she believes him to be someone else?

“I’ve heard the city is home to over half a million souls,” he replies. Judging from Daenerys Targaryen’s continuing lack of reaction, he was wrong in assuming she thought him to be someone else.

“Shouldn’t a King know how many people are under his rule?” she asks with vague amusement, but her eyes remain locked onto King’s Landing.

“I know how many people the North holds.”

Not enough to defeat the dead.

The Pirate Queen acknowledges his words with a hum, her attention never straying from the Painted Table. Tyrion said she wasn’t interested in the Iron Throne, but seeing her focus on King’s Landing like this...

“Are you planning to claim the Iron Throne?” Try to claim, at least.

Daenerys Targaryen lifts her gaze, storm grey eyes meeting his own. Her expression is closed off in a way that makes him shift his footing to a more battle ready stance, prepared for the situation to turn hostile. It’s instinct more than anything else that makes him react like this. He doesn’t truly believe she’ll attack him.

He'd be a fool not to prepare for the possibility of it happening.

Daenerys Targaryen shifts her own footing in kind, taking on a battle ready stance as well. It’s clear her reaction is an unconscious one, though. She returns her gaze to King’s Landing.

“...No. Reclaiming the Seven Kingdoms was my brother’s dream.”

She holds a different one. The question is, what is her dream?

Or rather, does her dream pose a threat to the North?

Daenerys Targaryen lifts her hand from King’s Landing and strides towards him. Halting next to him, she leans against the table, close enough to force Jon to tilt his head down to meet her eyes. Despite his best efforts, he fails to keep his eyes from straying down further.

How is she not cold walking around like this?

When he manages to drag his gaze away from her bare skin and meet her eyes again, he finds the Pirate Queen’s lips quirked up in a faint smile, amusement brightening the storm of her eyes. She’s aware of the effect her state of undress has on people. She simply doesn’t care. Neither does she use her appearance as a weapon. There's nothing purposely seductive about her stance. The opposite, now that Jon has managed to shake off most of the distraction posed by her bare skin, he realizes she’s positioned herself so she can kick out his knee. Jon shifts his weight so he’ll be able to block without losing his balance.

The Pirate Queen’s smile grows.

“Tell me about yourself, Jon Snow, King in the North,” she orders while hopping onto the table. The change in position means she’ll be able to kick his chest with both her feet. While his armor would catch the worst of the blow, she'd still send him crashing to the floor if she used both her feet.

“Not much to tell,” he says while taking a step back. Getting out of her reach. Her kick would still land, but she won’t have the leverage needed to throw him to the floor. He could take another step back and leave her range completely, but this way he can grab her legs and drag her off the table. That would end the fight before it can turn lethal.

“I highly doubt that,” she returns while lifting a leg and placing her foot on the edge of the table. Ready to lunge at him instead of kicking him.

Her raised leg puts her in a truly indecent position. The only thing protecting her modesty is the silk pooling between her thighs.

“I’m not here to fight you,” he says while changing his footing so he can throw her over his shoulder should she lunge for him.

Daenerys Targaryen raises a brow as amused as it is pointed, the glance she gives his feet an unnecessary addition to her silent message. She also shifts her center of gravity so she’ll be able to grab his cloak in her lunge. Preventing him from throwing her over his shoulder without her using the fabric against him.

With great reluctance, Jon forces himself to assume his previous position instead of rolling his shoulders to get his cloak out of the way. It leaves him uncomfortably open to attack, but someone has to make the first move to end the near battle they’ve somehow ended up in. He meant it when he said he isn’t here to fight her.

Doesn’t mean he won’t defend himself.

Daenerys Targaryen gains a grin that's both amused and contains a little too many teeth, before she lets her leg fall open. Lowering her guard and showing she holds no intention to attack him either. For now, at least.

Her new position is even more indecent than her previous one. She sits as a boy in breeches would, except she's a woman whose only articles of clothing consists of a skirt more suited as an undergarment.

She's a woman with remarkably firm thighs. The left of which holds a scar that disappears beneath the scrap of fabric covering her. Jon wonders just how far it goes.

“Why are you here, Jon Snow?”

“I could ask you the same thing,” he counters, shaking off his momentary distraction. Even now that she’s no longer wired to attack, he remains on guard. The Pirate Queen has a reputation for mayhem and murder after all. “You and your people are the ones who appeared out of nowhere.”

“I suppose I should have been more specific,” Daenerys Targaryen says with a too sharp smile. “Why have you come to see me, Jon Snow?”

Jon swallows down an instinctive denial. Not only is the urge to lie ridiculous but it would serve no purpose. There’s no reason for anyone to come to Dragonstone but to speak with her.

“I wish to ask something.” The problem is he’s still unsure whether doing so would be a wise choice. Even more unsure than before in fact. Their interaction until now hasn’t exactly inspired confidence in her sanity.

It has, however, revealed that Daenerys Targaryen is dangerous even without her Dragons. Or without her people for that matter.

“What is it you wish to ask?” Daenerys Targaryen returns, tilting her head and watching him with curiosity. The sight is oddly reminiscent of how her Dragons watched him.

Jon hesitates. He wants, needs really, her aid in the fight against the dead. But only if she isn't her father’s daughter.

If she's her father’s daughter, asking for her aid might destroy the North before the dead ever arrive.

“Why have you come to Westeros?” he settles on. It’s not what he came to ask, true, but the little time he’s spend within her presence has revealed that the question is vital if he is to even consider asking for aid.

Daenerys Targaryen gives him a look that shows she is well aware this wasn’t his original question, but she answers nonetheless. Or rather, she gives a reply.

“To find an answer.”

Frustration rises at the words that clarify nothing.

“An answer to what?” he demands, unable to keep the annoyance from his voice. He doesn’t have time for games.

“Answer my question and perhaps I'll answer yours,” Daenerys Targaryen counters with another too sharp smile, but even with the hint of danger, it's clear that she's enjoying herself.

It annoys Jon even further. This is no laughing matter. Jon doesn't say so, though. Instead he lets out a slow breath and reigns in his temper. It takes him a moment to figure out what question she wants him to answer, but when he realizes which one she's referring to, his annoyance grows.

Jon doesn’t enjoy talking about himself.

“I’m the bastard son of Ned Stark of Winterfell. I was a Brother of the Nightwatch, then I was made King in the North.”

There, that summarizes everything relevant about himself. Daenerys Targaryen can ask for no more.

He’ll not tell her more.

His answer seems to amuse the Pirate Queen greatly, her smile losing the edge of danger and her storm grey eyes dancing with mirth.

She’s beautiful.

He really needs to gain control over his attraction to this woman.

Daenerys Targaryen’s mirth fades. She turns her head to look at King’s Landing and shows a mixture of too many emotions to parse. Jon can name but one with certainty.

Daenerys Targaryen is afraid.

“I came here to find out whether or not I can avoid becoming a monster.”

The words catch him off guard completely. Whatever he was expecting her to be here for, it wasn’t this.

“...Why do you fear you're becoming one?” he asks, deciding that's is the most important thing to know. He's careful to keep his wariness hidden but it's definitely there. Her fearing she's becoming a monster doesn’t indicate a stable state of mind.

It indicates at least part of her is still sane. The monsters Jon has known never wondered whether or not they were evil, never mind feared it. Either they knew and didn’t care, or they were convinced they were in the right. Daenerys Targaryen seems neither.

She seems to not just understand but to care about the difference between good and evil. Most important of all, she seems to desire to be good. Jon feels some of his tension leave at this positive indicator of her being sane enough to ask for aid.

“I murdered thousands of people.”

This, on the other hand, makes it impossible to forget he’s speaking to the Mad King’s Daughter.

“I burned down their homes and made the streets run red. I didn’t care about the innocents, didn’t care my actions lead to their deaths. All I cared about was vengeance.”

When the Pirate Queen meets his gaze again, her fear is even greater than before.

“What if it happens again?”

Jon waits for her to say more, but she doesn’t. She truly expects him to answer that? Even ignoring that he's a stranger to her, he has no idea what she is talking about. The destruction of Slaver’s Bay, he assumes, but even if he's right, he doesn’t have enough information about what happened to form a definitive judgement.

“What caused it to happen in the first place?” he decides to return, figuring that to be the best place to start.

Daenerys Targaryen’s fear disappears. What takes its place causes him to reach for Longclaw on instinct, his body readying itself for battle.

The look the Mad King's Daughter gives him is harsh and brutal, not a trace of mercy to be found.

Her eyes burn with a rage that would consume the world.

“The Masters wished for war. I gave them one.”

Jon is starting to understand why Tyrion warned him against angering the Mother of Dragons. Were it not for her Dragons, he'd abandon the idea of asking for her aid altogether. As it is, he’s not willing to give up just yet.

He’s not willing to ask for her aid yet either.

“Do you think me a monster, Jon Snow?” Daenerys Targaryen asks in a measured voice, but the fire raging in her eyes turns the question into a threat.

“I think,” he says slowly, choosing his answer with care, “that fearing you're becoming a monster is a right step to not becoming one.”

He truly does believe that. He also believes that merely fearing yourself to be turning into a monster isn't enough to keep yourself from becoming one. But it’s a good start.

Of course, fearing you're becoming a monster also means you’ve done enough terrible things to start thinking yourself a monster in the first place.

Daenerys Targaryen softens, the fire leaving her eyes and the threat of violence fading away. She looks back at King’s Landing.

“I hope so. But even if it is, it isn't enough.”

No, it’s not. The fact she recognizes that is another indicator of her not being mad as her father was.

Not yet at least.

Daenerys Targaryen hops off the table and strides towards the open balcony. Jon stares at her back, thoughts momentarily scattered by shock. Daenerys Targaryen’s hair covers much of her back but not all.

It doesn’t cover the patchwork of scars that could’ve come from only one thing.

Daenerys Targaryen has been whipped. Brutally so.

“Come find me when you’re ready to ask whatever it is you wish to ask of me, Jon Snow,” she says without halting her confident movements, the sound of her voice allowing him to regain his wits. He meets her gaze when she looks over her shoulder, her lips curved in a faint smile. “Or when you’re ready to tell me more about yourself.”

Daenerys Targaryen returns her gaze forward and reaches the edge of the open balcony.

She jumps off the cliff without a single hesitation, the procession of movement so natural Jon only realizes what she's doing after her feet have already left the ground. He’s already running after her when he hears the sound of something impossibly large moving through the air, but he doesn’t slow down until he’s reached the balcony and can see for himself that the Pirate Queen landed on one of her Dragons instead of falling to her death below.

Jon wills his racing heart to slow down as he watches the Black Dragon fly out to sea, Daenerys Targaryen’s bright hair easily visible against its dark scales.

Daenerys Targaryen is mad.

Jon lets out a harsh breath and brings up a hand to rub the back of his neck, as conflicted as he is exasperated. He came here to determine for himself whether or not the Pirate Queen could be asked for aid. He’s failed spectacularly at that. She’s mad, that much is more than clear, but whether her madness prevents her from being a potential ally? That Jon has no answer for. Her madness is different from that of her father, but he doesn't yet know if it's worth putting up with for the chance of gaining the aid of her Dragons.

He needs to speak with Tyrion.

Turning around, Jon leaves the chamber with the intention to do just that. He truly hopes Tyrion will be able to clarify once and for all whether or not he should abandon the idea of asking the Pirate Queen for aid.

One thing is for certain. Daenerys Targaryen certainly lives up to her reputation as the Mad King’s Daughter.

If you’re interested in the rest of the fic, you can find it on Archiveofourown. The title is A Storm In The North, and my username is Loeka

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fragmentedshards · 5 years ago

Text

The Final Curtain, Chapter Nine

Capucine Brodeur

“What’s the matter with you?” Ciel inquired as Sebastian helped him get ready to go to the ballet. “You are more pensive than usual, I can sense it.”

“You are correct; obviously your senses have improved greatly since your transformation.” Sebastian confirmed. “Matilda made a rather intriguing comment after the briefing, you see, and as a result I have a thought about the group going to the ballet.”

Ciel scowled. “Well, out with it then! Why do you make me drag out my questions?”

“Matilda said that she knows the prima ballerina of the troupe,” the butler stated. “At least, she thinks she does. It is my belief, young master, that it would be of the utmost benefit to you and to the solving of this case if you were to include Matilda in the outing to the ballet.”

The young earl scoffed. “I would never dream of allowing a household servant to come along on an outing of nobles. You, Agni, and Paula are the odd exceptions.”

Sebastian finished tying Ciel’s bowtie and stood upright, delivering a flat retort. “I’m afraid this is folly, my lord.”

Ciel whipped his head around. “What?” he growled at his butler, glowering.

“Matilda could be the pivotal point for this case,” Sebastian continued, straightening his gloved on each hand. “She could expedite the solution by days, even weeks, if you take her with you and she recognizes this Bryony Redruth. Her presence in this case may even eliminate the need to consult Undertaker; you never know. To refuse to allow such an asset to accompany you and the others to the ballet merely due to the station she holds as a servant is folly.”

“This is new for you,” Ciel remarked. “Speaking so directly to your master. I suppose the more my senses improve, the less self-control and decorum you have. In other words: the more I adjust to being a demon, the more human you become.” he sighed in defeat. “Fine, I suppose you are right. Matilda will come with the rest of us to the ballet. Perhaps that explains the extra ticket the queen included with the letter.” The earl began to pace back and forth across the room once more. “It won’t do to have her coming along as the maid, though, even with some of the other servants accompanying their masters. She has no particular master or mistress as it is not her station. We must think of a new identity for her to assume; a disguise.”

“I believe I am the best person for that job!” An exaggerated voice sounded from the hallway, and all of a sudden the door flew open to reveal a flamboyant and blood-red reaper striking a pose.

“What the - Grell?!” Ciel stumbled backwards in shock. Sebastian immediately inserted himself between the earl and the shinigami, realizing as he did so that he no longer needed to protect his master so fiercely.

Grell clapped her hands to her face and squealed. “Oh, Bassy! Did you miss me?”

“Miss you?” the butler replied in a labored voice. “Why, I haven’t even aimed at you yet.”

Grell waved a hand at the butler, as if shooing his retort away. “Oh, you,” she giggled, but then straightened up and tried to don a serious demeanor. “In this case, however, I am not here for you. Adrien asked me to keep an eye on his wife since he has some corpses to take care of, and now that she is going to the ballet with you it seems you need my skills to create the perfect disguise for her.” She marched over to the wall where a tasseled rope hung, tugging on it to summon Matilda to the earl’s bedchamber.

Ciel peered at the reaper from behind Sebastian. “Adrien? His wife?”

“Undertaker, silly boy!” Grell put her hands on her hips and bent down to the earl’s level. “Don’t tell me all this time you never learned his name!”

“His name is Adrien?” Ciel inquired. “And Matilda Livesey is his wife?”

“Adrien Craven and Madame Mathilde,” Grell confirmed, clasping her hands together and popping one foot up behind her. “I’ve never known a more romantic union than the two of them. I even attended the wedding! It was simply splendid, especially for one held in a mortuary. But never mind about that now: we have to create the ultimate persona for Mathilde!”

“Madame Mathilde?” Sebastian wondered aloud, but was ignored by both Ciel and a gushing Grell as Matilda entered.

“Why, Grell!” the maid exclaimed, rushing forward to grasp hands with the red reaper. “What a lovely surprise! How is Adrien?”

“Working hard and longing for you, of course,” Grell sighed. “I’ll tell him you are in the same position. Now, then:” the shinigami circled Matilda, gesturing broadly and flourishingly. “Given her French ancestry, it is only fitting that she take on the role of a French noblewoman tonight,” she lifted a finger in the air matter-of-factly. “Because she is a servant and is going undercover, I propose the name Capucine Brodeur - Brodeur from the French word for embroiderer, signifying servitude, and Capucine from the French word meaning cape or hood, representing a disguise.”

Matilda raised an eyebrow. “I’m afraid I’m confused,” she admitted. “What is going on?”

Ciel addressed the household maid. “We need you to accompany us to the ballet tonight. If you recognize Bryony Redruth, you could be a tremendous help on this case. However, you cannot attend as yourself. Paula, Agni, and Sebastian can attend as servants because they are assigned to Lady Elizabeth, Prince Soma, and myself as personal servants, you see. Because you tend to the entire household rather than a singular master or mistress, it would arise suspicion if you were to be seen with members of high society. We have to disguise you.” he threw an irritated gesture in Grell’s direction. “Apparently he’s your best chance.”

Matilda glanced at Grell, who flipped her long red hair and cocked an eyebrow at the boy earl. “Grell knows a great deal about these subjects; she is quite talented,” the maid declared, in a tone almost chastising the young master. Ciel glowered at Matilda but said nothing.

“As for her clothing, certainly none of her dresses are fit for the ballet, and I’m afraid I do not own much besides my work attire,” Grell continued, addressing the earl. “However, if you were to point me in the direction of a collection of fine women’s clothing, I can fix this wench right up!”

Ciel pressed his thumb and forefinger to his chin and puzzled over the reaper’s request. “Hmm... nothing Lizzie owns would fit an adult... perhaps I have something of Mother’s or Aunt An’s stored away somewhere. It may be the best we can do. Sebastian!”

Without having to hear the rest of the order, Sebastian placed his hand over his heart and bowed. “Yes, my lord.”

Many minutes later, Matilda was dressed in a velvet gown of vivid red, and her magenta hair had been curled and pinned atop her head. She gazed at her reflection in astonishment.

“I hardly recognize myself,” she struggled to comment as Grell applied rouge to the maid’s lips. “I wish Adrien could see me this way.”

“Trust me,” the reaper replied, placing the final touches on Matilda’s face. “You already appear this way in his eyes.” Grell set the rouge down on the dresser, stepping back to survey her work with a pleased expression. “Gentlemen,” she called to Ciel and Sebastian, motioning for Matilda to stand. “I give you: Lady Capucine Brodeur!”

Matilda curtsied clumsily, giving a weak smile. “I have much more to learn about playing this part,” she admitted timidly.

Queen Victoria had, it seemed, taken it upon herself to send two coaches to transport the group to the ballet; one driven by Charles Grey, the other driven by Charles Phipps. Ciel, Sebastian, Lady Elizabeth, and Paula climbed into the first coach, while Prince Soma, Agni, Matilda, Lau, and Ran Mao squeezed into the second one; Ran Mao made room for Matilda by sitting on Lau’s lap. The journey into London seemed shorter than usual, perhaps because Ciel found himself discussing the case details with Lady Elizabeth. When they arrived at the theatre and Grey and Phipps opened the carriage doors, the party found s substantial crowd gathered.

“It seems this particular ballet is quite popular,” Sebastian remarked. “Though I wonder if it is the production or the troupe that the audience enjoys.”

After much jostling and waiting and walking, they finally arrived to their seats in one of the left balconies of the theatre. Matilda, Ciel, Lady Elizabeth, Prince Soma, Lau, and Ran Mao sat in a row together while Sebastian, Paula, and Agni sat directly behind their masters and mistresses. Matilda peered down at the stage through the opera glasses that had been loaned to her.

“I can see so clearly from up here,” she exhaled in awe. “I’ve never seen any sort of theatre production from a balcony seat! How exciting!”

“Of course not,” Ciel grumbled beside her. “The higher seats are reserved for nobility. Act like you’re used to this, or you’ll give yourself away, and us with you.”

Just then, a voice from the entrance to their balcony made all nine heads turn at once. Ciel instantly went rigid with disgust, for merely feet away stood a horrifyingly familiar person.

“Viscount Druitt!” he exclaimed under his breath.

#fanfic #fanfiction #my writing #write #writer #writing #black butler #black butler fanfiction #kuroshitsuji #kuroshitsuji fanfiction #undertaker x oc #undertaker #kuroshitsuji undertaker #black butler undertaker #grell sutcliff #grelle sutcliff #she!grelle #grell is a woman #the final curtain

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seven--secrets · 3 years ago

Text

The Choices We Make | Riley | Trial 2.5 | Re: All That | ATTN: Everyone, NPCs

Koune’s pleas and declaration of love stabs into Riley's heart once more the first time she spoke after she last did, but she spared a smile of thanks that she’s being listened to still to the fox girl. After that, things are suggested, questions asked, and Riley looks pensive at what Wakaru in particular has suggested, though she doesn't quite have the chance to discuss it right away.

Because then… all hell had broken loose. Robin had revealed his own talent while changing his demeanor and wording things like That, which wasn’t something she’d expected at all. Riley’s breath caught in her throat at the expression that Shigure gave, a sinking feeling in her stomach too even if she can understand her perspective. Chioko’s panicked words and pose that she knows all too well about now, Koune’s outburst about how much she hates everyone here.

She can feel a panic attack of her own inching its way up her throat, making her mouth dry out and her heart race as she she clenches a fist under her desk. But she knows that she can’t give into that. She knows that she needs to TRY to not let things spiral further and further out of control, and so she refuses to give in to that here and now.

Riley swallows, then takes a deep breath, in and out. She spreads her arms out in the open space that’s around her as a result of Willow being gone, a gesture of non-aggression. And then Riley clears her throat, raising her voice just enough to be heard over the ruckus around her while trying her best to not come off as yelling. Calm, but assertive.

“Hey, everyone, please, let’s take a moment to calm down and just breath, okay? It’s reasonable to be upset on all fronts, and I know that things are scary right now. But we don’t need to take that out on each other. Robin is trying to make himself look worse on purpose. That isn’t to say that he hasn’t done bad things, I’m sure that if he’s telling the truth at all that he has in the past, but I’ve seen how much effort he’s been putting into trying to change for the better in the present day. Not just as of this game happening, but even back at the start of the school year I could tell that he was making an effort of some kind, even if I didn’t know why.

So… Even if you don’t trust him, please don’t let that cloud your judgment too harshly right now if you can while we talk this through. The same for you too Koune-chan, okay? Tensions are high right now, I’m sure that many of us have traumatic experiences or intense feelings that are factoring in and clashing. We’re all scared of what might happen to ourselves or people we care about. But no matter what they’ve done in the past, I don’t want to see ANYONE die unnecessarily because we didn’t look closely enough at everything, Robin included with everyone else. Besides, we don’t need to just give in to this, and cause our own torment by turning on each other.”

“And Robin, that goes for you too. Please, stop trying to dig your own grave. I know that you’re trying to make yourself look bad so that we vote for you, because you must think that’s better somehow if we can see you as lesser. You’re acting just like Kenta did all the time, even if it’s a different context. But you aren’t helping us by riling us up and causing more arguments even if it isn’t your intention, even if you think that making yourself out to be a villain will make this less painful. Sharing things with people to work through things in a controlled context is one thing, but I can tell why you’re doing it and giving it the description you are, and I need you to stop. If you do explain yourself, please, leave the act out of it.”

Riley gives a slow, quiet sigh. This was all so incredibly tense now, and she knows that there’s no one magic thing that she can say to make it better. The best that she can do is to try her absolute hardest to keep things as calm as she can, but even that was sure to be difficult. She keeps herself ready and watching at the very least, prepared in case something goes down anyways, though she isn’t sure all of what she can do about it. She tries to give a smile, though there’s a very slight shakiness to it that she wishes she could hide.

“If I can get back to the topic we had before… You’re all right that the question we need to solve is what might be considered correct now that we know what happened, because I’m still certain that what I suggested occurred is the truth with Kenta swapping things and neither of them having any ill intent. I don’t think that it’s as cut and dry as the Onryo only accepting an answer that brings more bloodshed thus it must be Robin, though. I suggested before that it’s possible that this might be subjective from us, and I think that because of the Onryo’s wording at the start of this trial.”

“They specifically said ‘The trial today is to determine who is the most responsible for the death of Kenta Kowata.’ They also explicitly said that they will accept voting for Kenta if we ‘think he’s the most responsible party’, before taunting that they’d already made their mind up and wondering if we’d be on the same page. That does make it sound fully possible that they might be trying to trick us into voting for Robin when either can actually be a valid option to me. Miku said something earlier about it being possible there Can be more than one correct answer, and while I’m not certain if that’s true, it’s definitely on the table as a possibility for me.

What Wakaru said before is true too, that they did say that this motive wouldn’t end ‘Until one of them kills another’, but I’m uncertain if that in itself is solid proof either, given the fact that we were explicitly told that Kenta is an option too. Both statements are currently in question, and we need to figure out the specifics of it. Do any of you have any ideas? And is that something that any of you can clarify?"

She looks both to her fellow classmates, and to all of the spirits gathered around them. If there was one thing to be sure of, it was that Riley Daniels did not intend to just Give Up when there was more to think about and discuss.

#riley #chapter 2 #trial 2 #submission

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terraclae · 7 years ago

Text

Fracture, Part 1

lore pings: @yuushanoah-fr @cityofinoue

Arodan puts the last pieces together, a bit of a long one. All dragons are in bipedal forms as usually.

He was back in a familiar dream. Yet, it didn’t immediately hit Arodan where he was or what he was looking at. The first thing that registered and solidified for him was that he was standing by someone’s bedside. The bed was occupied by two. From that thought it occurred to him he was watching tails intertwine, claws raking trenches in skin, bare skin, entangling further.

It then occurred to him what he was looking at, and that he wasn’t an invisible bystander. One golden and dilated eye turned to look at him, and Arodan’s head split.

He woke up with a harsh and staggering start, bolting upright in his bed. The first thing that registered to him was that he was sweating buckets and that his heart felt as if it was about to come crawling out his throat.

‘Have you ever heard of the concept of privacy?’

The second thing he noticed was Sachairi. The man sat on a crate in a dark corner of the room, fading into the shadows. Arodan swallowed his heart and righted himself. This was an opportunity to speak to him or the Shade in him. ‘That wasn’t exactly a thing I wanted to see either.’ He grunted, rubbing the back of his head. ‘This whole Shade thing is kind of new for me alright?’

‘So you just happen to fall into my personal dreams, seriously?’ Sachairi responded harshly, leaning back with his arms folded. He seemed to flicker lightly. ‘Just because we have one personal conversation doesn’t mean you can walk into my head.’

‘I wasn’t exactly curious about what you dream up about your sweetheart as nice as he might be, thank you.’ Arodan snapped and he could feel his face had grown hot. ‘Instead of getting angry at me for this happening teach me then how to control it.’

‘No. Do I look like I have time for that?’

‘Yes.’

Sachairi huffed and he averted his stare elsewhere. ‘Yeah, you're probably right.’ He sucked in a breath and looked in again, looking visibly agitated by the way his shoulders tensed. ‘... What do you want to know about this whole Shade ordeal?’

‘How do I control-’ Arodan gestured at himself. ‘This? Why can I see what you dream and think?’

‘Fuck if I know.’ Sachairi said. He shrugged and held up his hand to Arodan. ‘I’m guessing it might be your particular talent. That’s what your Shade allows you to do.’ He turned his hand and Arodan swore it was trailing versions of itself behind, afterimages that soon faded. ‘It’s maybe not as dormant as you think. Maybe it needs a specific trigger, maybe it acts on its own.’

‘Dormant this, dormant that, when am I going to get a straight answer?’ Arodan groaned. He buried his head in his hands and found the pressure soothed the upcoming headache. ‘How did you come to this theory?’

‘Kassa’s Shade is merged to their hands and they want to be able to control situations.’ Sachairi held up one finger and raised another. ‘Yours is inside you, possibly stuck to your brain and you’re a snooping bastard so you get mindwalking.’

‘Hey!’

‘Can it, I’m not done speaking yet.’ Sachairi growled. He looked angrier than he felt, and with a sigh he continued. ‘Altair-‘ and the mention of this name visibly shook Arodan. ‘Has advanced Shade as far as I’ve seen. It is tied to his hands, but also in his wings and very well could be in his blood. His Shade manifests as butterflies.’

‘Right.’ Arodan muttered. He searched the room and found there really wasn’t anyone besides Sachairi despite having the distinct feeling there were more people. ‘So what does that make you?’

Sachairi looked pensive momentarily and scowled once he found his answer. ‘I don’t know.’ Sachairi started. He sounded as if two people were speaking at once and Arodan was slightly thrown off by it. ‘Before I came to Paramo, I was like this, before the Shifting Expanse, I told you. Some days are easy. Some aren’t… And something might be wrong with me.’ His form flickered yet again and briefly, Arodan Swore he could see Sachairi’s face shift from confusion, to fear, to neutrality within the span of a second. It had been as if he had shed his skin involuntarily and now someone else spoke who no longer hid in the shadows but looked perfectly ordinary. Dark hair, golden eyes, a scar over his eye and the hint of a burn scar in his neck.

‘Dan, tell me something. Something I meant to ask you.’ Sachairi now spoke in a voice Arodan didn’t recognize at all and yet this didn’t surprise him. Something changed in Sachairi's eyes and he groaned which alarmed Arodan further. ‘Do you ever feel like you are someone you’re not?’ The question has been spoken quietly and remarkably hesitant.

Arodan’s tired eyes momentarily drifted to the floor, then back to Sachairi. He was if not a little freaked out yet it left him as quickly as it came. He scooted to the side and pat the bed besides him. ‘I feel like I’ve been dreaming before I came to Paramo. Like I’ve been stagnant.’ He managed to smile. ‘So tell me more about it.’ Somewhere inside him there was a version of him telling he really should be more worried and yet he detached in the face of something he didn’t quite understand yet.

Sachairi shot Arodan a bewildered look and soon paced over quietly to where Arodan sat. He settled down fairly gently with his hands folded. ‘You know, some days I… I have memories of places I can’t remember having been to, things I don’t remember doing. Some days it doesn’t even feel like this is my own body.’

'What is it you remember?' Arodan asked and it was like he was watching a psychological metamorphosis before his eyes. He understood what the others had meant with that something was off in his character now that he saw it up close. 'Tell me about that.'

'... Sunlight. Long rivers in deserts. I remember being in the fighting pits and then...' He made a small outward movement with his hands. 'Nothing. Until you, to be fair.' He looked up pensively. 'I remember wealth and gold and riches. A woman that resembled me. That was… Home.'

'So, what were you before you were a gladiator?'

His brow furrowed as he thought. The way he did it it almost hid his eyes and they glowed faintly in the dark. ‘I’m not sure. A merchant maybe.’ He looked up and sighed. ‘I remember having to handle a lot of expensive wares and travelling along on a caravan. So it’s likely.’

‘Likely, huh?’ Arodan scanned over Sachairi. He sat with his arms close to him and he met his eye. A befuddled stare scanned over him in similar manner and he felt a little embarrassed by it. ‘Okay. When did you meet Raz?’

‘I don’t know.’

‘You don’t know?’

That seemed to strike Sachairi and he rubbed the side of his head in an attempt to think of anything. ‘That memory… Wait… Isn’t mine. But we met at some festival. But that wasn’t me who was the one to meet him.’

He definitely was speaking to someone else now, Arodan felt. 'Where were you then?' He wanted to reach out and touch him, get info as quickly as he could. 'Who… Who are you?'

He paused then. Whoever was speaking searched the memory that was his. Before he could speak Arodan dared and whispered. 'Are you… Could it be that you're a Shade manifestation?'

'No.' He shook his head and buried it in his hands. 'I can't be. He has to be.' He looked up, panicked and Arodan watched his expression closely. 'My name is… I think my name is Dmitri, that woman called me that. I was…’

‘Okay, Dmitri.’ Arodan responded. He stopped himself from staring too closely at Dmitri. ‘That’s really what you call yourself?’

‘It’s my name, jerk.’ He snapped and slid away from Arodan. ‘... Dima. Dima is also what people called me once.’

‘I’m not trying to make fun of your name.’ Arodan responded. Dima was an easier name to speak for him. ‘But please forgive me for being wary with you. You have to be honest, this is a little odd.’ Well, this was magnitudes of weird Arodan couldn't quite make sense of but he was getting information.

‘... I guess you’re right.’ He looked at his hand, then Arodan’s. ‘But what am I supposed to do about it?’

‘What you can do is tell me if you pose a threat to the people on this boat.’ Arodan sternly asked. ‘That is what we’re worried about.’

‘No. I won’t. I barely know any of you.’ Dmitri answered without any doubt to his voice. It wavered only a little at the end out of an abject nervousness that seemed to plague him momentarily. ‘Sachairi is loyal to these people, he cares about them, I… I don’t know what that’s like.’

They sat there in silence for a moment then. Arodan has to ponder upon the words being truth because Dmitri could be a very good liar all the same. His hands slowly slid into his bag that sat by his bed and he retrieved his journal, flipping through Mimir’s decorated pages. ‘Is it you that wanted to speak to me?’

‘Yes- What’s that?’ Dmitri shot up and kept an unflinching stare on Mimir. ‘Is that a tome of magic?’

‘What, no, it’s my journal- Look-‘ Arodan took a sharp deep breath that uncomfortably prickled in his chest. He held Mimir out to Dmitri. ‘Look, Sachairi has already read through this thing so probably you have too. My point is, talk to it.’

‘Um… Hello?’ Dmitri held the book on a cautious distance. When golden letters popped up that spelled out a cheerful “hello” he near jumped. ‘That’s witchcraft.’

‘Witchcraft? Have you never seen magic before or something?’ Arodan was a little taken aback and frankly offended by Dmitri calling whatever Mimir was witchcraft. ‘She’s a talking book, nothing scary about that.’

‘She?’ His stare darted between Arodan and Mimir And he took shaky breaths. ‘Okay. Sorry. I’ve seen magic, I just am not used to it being in near proximity or so casually practiced.’ He held up Mimir again, to speak to her instead. ‘What’s your name?’

Mimir! Yours is Dmitri right?

‘Woah.’ He glanced back at Arodan again, then at Mimir with a more relaxed attitude. ‘That’s…. Genuinely cool.’

Thank you!

‘How did you get this?’ Dmitri asked Arodan, turning Mimir around for a bit in his hands. ‘I hadn’t seen sentient books yet.’

‘Bought the journal, her being able to talk was an accident.’ He thought of Altair and he felt as if he was going to start sounding like he was constantly repeating himself. ‘I got blasted with some sort of bad magic and I guess it rubbed off on her.’

'Huh.' Dmitri hummed. His golden eyes narrowed and focused deeply on a dent in Mimir's binding, 'Why does she look waterlogged?'

'Fell into the ocean.'

'I… I see.' Dmitri saw Mimir was waiting for him to ask her something, just by the way gentle little dots appeared on the paper. He was still focused on her cover however. 'You didn't exactly take care of her very well.'

'I tried but I can't be skilled at every little thing like intense bookbinding.' Arodan gestured at himself then at Mimir in awkward and just mildly offended fashion. His tone had grown more sarcastic now. 'What would you suggest then?'

'... Repairing it?' Dmitri turned his head as if he didn't understand Arodan's sentiment. He pored over Mimir yet again and traced a clawed digit along the spine. 'Give me some materials and I could repair it for you.'

'Yeah, sure- Wait, you can do that?' Arodan glanced over Dmitri cautiously. He reminded himself he wasn't talking to Sachairi, but he hadn't thought of a potential shade monster to be particularly well versed in the art of book restoration. 'How-'

'I just need extra leather, thread, and maybe I need to straighten out a few pages.' He turned the book in his hands until Mimir wrote that she wanted Dmitri to stop shaking her already. He then chose to lay her down on his lap instead. 'How would you like that Mimir?'

I don’t think I’d mind. Can Arodan be around though?

‘Yeah, of course!’ He responded and looked up expectantly at Arodan. ‘I mean, if you don’t mind that either. This is your friend right?’

‘... Yeah. Mimir’s my friend.’ He said, a fond note punctuating the word friend. ‘So, you can understand I’d prefer to be present and that you’re careful with her. Can you even be present for that?’

That seemed to hit Dmitri closely in a sense. His eyes fell and his shoulders sank for a moment before he raised them again. ‘I want to try.’ He inhaled sharply yet somehow made no sound. ‘I know that that is something I loved.’

‘Good, that’s… Good.’ Arodan nodded awkwardly and looked over Dmitri once more. Who exactly was this? There had to be a logical explanation for him yet he came to no answer. ‘You really… Don’t mean these people harm?’

'No. Not at all.' He shook his head and looked almost mournful. 'I don't want to cause them grief so I try my best at pretending I'm… Well, their friend. Who they want to see.' He shivered lightly, and quickly pushed Mimir back into Arodan's hands. He stashed her safely back into his bag. 'They suspect me so it really isn't working out for me, isn't it?' He said, managing to awkwardly smile. It looked nice on him, Arodan thought.

'No, not really.' Arodan said. No use dancing around the truth, everybody was on edge ever since he woke up the way he did. They knew this wasn't him. 'They're worried and rightfully scared, so you need to clear it up somehow. If you just go on pretending to be someone you're not it's going to get worse.' Arodan took a deep breath. 'Even if you happen to turn out a shade monster or something along those lines.'

'You have my word.’ Dmitri said, jolting up. He nervously looked off to the side searching for what else to say. ‘I don’t know how to give you a true symbol of it but just know I really don’t know how I got here and who I am.’ He held up His hand. ‘Hell, we can shake on it if that eases your mind.’ Dmitri smiled uncertainly.

Arodan warily eyed the hand, which looked normal by all means. He had half a thought that he was about to be eaten alive by a Shade monster somehow and he blamed it on a lack of sleep and his own mild paranoia. Yet, he reached. 'Fine, we'll shake on it.'

The moment his hand wrapped around Dmitri's it was as if the floor dropped out from under him. He didn't see it, only felt it, how his skin raised and imploded in painlessly. Arodan didn't have time to fear what was happening, he thought he was dying. Then he wasn't. He saw white, endless white, and a child with dark hair and golden eyes briefly ran past him. They disappeared, and he split again into ribbons and for just a moment his thoughts fragmented into a thousand. One fragment saw a woman in gold with dark hair that told him he was going to see the world while another showed him a group of raiders on the horizon. New sets showed him distant figures without love, others a figure with many hands Arodan for just a moment could feel on his skin. Evil beings danced in his mind as equally as forces of good and a life spanned before him. He couldn't possibly scream now and wouldn't know where that sound would begin and where it would end.

Finally once he reassembled and felt all feeling return to his body, he was in an arena. Two men, one tall and imposing, one quick and swift. He was no spectator, he was among them. He was like them. The large man fell and he did not recognize him, but the sensation that then gripped him he knew. Not ordinary, imposing, once trusted. Sachairi.

He saw his body, the body he had borrowed that had fallen as he hovered above it.

And everything made sense.

Everything returned to white and he saw a familiar man. Pink eyes, tall, someone he had met on a doomed ship.

'Finally making use of that ability I gave you?'

That moment, Arodan did scream.

'Dan, please calm down, it's okay!'

He was still in his room, he realized. Not in the white space, not in one thousand pieces, but just on the floor, by his bed, in Atlas' arms. There was no sign of Dmitri.

Had any of that been real?

Atlas was shaking him a little now. 'Dan, please say something, did he hurt you?' He looked desperate and mortified all the same and now that Arodan looked around he could see Carmen was present too. She looked equally frightened by it all. 'What happened?'

Within the span of a few seconds the situation around him confirmed that all had been real. That begged the question then, why did that happen and where did Sachairi or Dmitri go? Who was piloting the body? Slowly his eyes slid around the room and he still didn't find him lurking in a corner somewhere. He finally spoke, rough and out of breath. 'Where did he go?'

'Balam went after him.' Carmen answered. She knelt down besides Arodan and Atlas and reached to gently hold on to Arodan's shoulder. 'Once he gets him we're going to question him, you were in a catatonic state with him holding on to you. Atlas came to check on you and saw it.'

'Yeah, that...' Arodan recollected his thoughts swiftly and scrambled to get out of Atlas' arms and past Carmen, bouncing on one leg as he ran to the door. 'I have to get to him.'

'Wait, Dan, that's unsafe-'

He barely looked behind him as he ran out of the door and gods, he hoped Atlas forgave him for it. He could hear both Carmen and Atlas calling after him and judging by the heavy footsteps the latter figure had started chasing him. He bolted up the stairs and it occurred to him this was familiar, if only for a moment. He didn't have time to humor the thought and raced for the deck before Atlas would stop him. A crash rang through the ship and shook it and Arodan knew what that meant. 'Stop!'

He reached the deck before Atlas did and slammed the hatch to it behind him. It wasn't going to lock but considering the weight it gave him a second or two at the very least. He reeled around, and in the dim light of the moon he could see Balam and Dmitri. Balam had already pinned the man, on of his hands holding Dmitri's arms behind his back, while the other pressed his head to the floor. He looked disoriented and his head bled and Arodan could guess Balam must have jumped onto Dmitri with his full weight. 'Sir-'

'Arodan.' Balam slowly looked up and his face looked haunting in the dim light. His eyes glowed a bright white and on his fingertips ice was slowly spreading, on his skin and Dmitri's. 'Are you alright?' He didn't ask it in any sense that sounded concerned. If anything it sounded like a rhetorical question that didn't have a right answer. Balam was frighteningly angry and he looked ready to explode.

'I'm fine sir.' Well, his head spun and he felt queasy but he could handle that. The developing situation, not so much. 'Sir, I need you to listen to me.'

'I'd prefer that he'd explain himself.'

'That's not going to happen if you hold him down.' Arodan glanced down at Dmitri and he doubted. If he was wrong about this, then nothing might change, they could be in danger, or he would be seen as completely mad. If he was right, then nothing might equally change or it could change perspectives. 'That person isn't your friend… But he isn't your enemy either.' His eyes shot down yet again to Dmitri and he was on the verge of passing out. The hatch behind him flew open and he knew Atlas was right behind him. He must have been pausing to assess the situation. ‘He isn’t here because he wishes to do us harm. He’s just as hurt as any of us.’

‘I know that.’ Balam growled. His hand tightened on Dmitri’s skull subconsciously and loosened once a whimper escaped from the man he seemingly had suppressed. ‘But I don’t want to make a mistake that could endanger us.’

‘I don’t think he is a danger to us.' Arodan quietly continued. He slowly shuffled towards Balam who looked more on edge with the second. 'Balam, that isn't Sachairi.'

'Then who is it?' Balam sharply responded, raising his head. He now looked like he was ready to pounce on Arodan and he could see the tiredness in his eyes. Balam was paranoid and he couldn't stop to think about his paranoia getting the better of him. Arodan knew that achingly well and he wished he knew what to do to soothe his thoughts. 'Answer me.'

'The man you're pinning is called Dmitri.' His eye darted towards Dmitri once more and he could see he looked up at him fearfully, like a man whose life was in his hands. Slowly, Dmitri mouthed something at him and Arodan hardened himself for what he was about to say. 'That man isn’t the friend you know… Because Sachairi is dead, and had never been alive in the time you knew him.’

The moment Arodan spoke and saw Dmitri’s expression changed to that of an angrier soul, he knew that he could very well be next.

#my lore #fr #ch: Arodan #ch: Sachairi #ch: Dmitri #ch: atlas #ch: Carmen #ch: Balam #a new face sorta enters the stage #ch: Mimir

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rkroyalsurvival-blog · 7 years ago

Photo

Episode start.

The previous weeks of emotional oscillation only continue in the last episode’s elimination round. It’s clear by the surprise present on more than one contestant’s face that an elimination wasn’t expected; awed gasps and aching expressions manifest when one name is called among the others. “Yubin, I’m sorry, but this will be your last day.” A microphone is passed to the female rapper by the staff and Yubin speaks her final farewell to all:

“I don’t really know what to say, my reaction time is slow… But I’m happy that I could come this far and I’m happy that my performance was enjoyed, it might not have been rapping but I’m extremely proud of it. I can’t wait to see the girls who make it on stage….so fighting and thank you for making me desperate again.”

So Jisub nods in acknowledgment to her words, sincerely wishing her the best as Yubin makes a graceful exit. With the show already more than halfway through, the CEO finds that the pressure to select the perfect girls for the final group is only getting more challenging. The previous challenges have done well to test their stage abilities to his discernment, however, there’s one more quality So Jisub prizes in the trainees in his company.

A personal interview with the CEO reveals the truth of it. Seated comfortably behind his desk, So Jisub leans forward to regard the camera with a thoughtful expression. “Most talents can be learned with practice,” he admits in his trademark calm tone. “However, a harder thing is to find members who have an excellent morality and a superior character as well. This isn’t optional-- far more than singing or dancing, I desire these qualities in my performers above all else. A good heart is irreplaceable.” Jisub flashes the audience a small, mysterious smile. “Everything else can be taught.”

“How are you going to test them?” The viewers are then taken inside a conference room, where the CEO sits at a long table surrounded by two producers and his communications director, Seo Kyulhyun. Jisub’s quiet laugh is full of mischief as he taps one finger against his temple. “Instinct,” he explains simply. To the producers’ raised eyebrows, he only laughs again in reaction. “If anyone knows ahead of time that something is happening, they’ll plan their reactions in a way that’s insincere and looks good-- a habit which is not what I want to see.” He proceeds to explain the plan to the three, and even gets up once to walk to the door. With the right timing, Jisub opens the wooden panel to admit two more who will be privy to the prank: the Dispatch reporter who will pose questions to the girls and the costumer designer whose dress is intended to be rigged for reactions.

On the day of the prank, the designer, the camera operator, and the producer are shown meeting together ahead of time to slip microphones sneakily into their garments. While the girls wait outside the costume studio to come in individually, the costume designer carefully adjusts the mannequin inside the studio for maximum effectiveness. The audience is aware of the false situation from the start. They can see the carefully-masked expression of the producer as the first girl is called in. They can see the way the camera operator and the reporter exchange knowing glances when she sits down. And finally, they are witnesses to So Jisub entering into a separate room with a large monitor in place for him to watch the interviews through the ‘eyes’ of the costume studio’s hidden camera. He is joined by the costume designer and he is the one who signals each time the designer will leave to go cause trouble.

For his, and the audience’s amusement, they watch the prank unfold for the eleven girls who are left in the show.

After Yang Jiwon answers her final question, she’s seen agape once the mannequin falls apart. So Jisub watches with a critical eye, and a sympathetic smile, as the designer hones in toughly on the TRC trainee. For a girl who was all spirit in her song performance in the last challenge, Jisub is surprised to see the way Jiwon doesn’t argue back in the way he’d suspected she would. Is he disappointed? Not entirely, for the appropriate words, “I’ll pay for it, it was my fault, I should’ve been paying more attention,” are uttered by Jiwon in the end. The CEO wouldn’t usually let a trainee under his employ pay out of pocket for such a thing, as Jegal Seoyoung reveals with her honest reply of the company covering costs, but, being as this is a genuine prank, he is visibly pleased by Jiwon’s personal reply.

The same goes for Ahn Hyojin, whose insistence that she pay herself, is met with Jisub’s approving laugh, and Manoban Lalisa, whose apologetic face and similar words tugs at one’s heartstrings. “It’s almost too cruel, isn’t it?” Jisub jokes with the designer who rejoins him after the third girl has gone. The costume designer shrugs and answers him with a sly smile. “They’ll probably hate you when they find out.”

The other girls are then shown with their own varying reactions: Nam Dawon, who attempts to soften the blow by complementing the dress’s original beauty (which causes the CEO to laugh outright); Park Chaeyoung, whose shaky voice betrays her feelings as she tries to offer reparation; and Jung Soojung, the latter girl who offers to remake the dress herself when it breaks. To Jisub, the costumer designer confesses her surprise at this last response: “I almost believed she’d actually sew with me right then and there!”

“Do you think she’d actually do it?” he asks curiously. Kim Seolhyun also offers to help repair it, as does Lee Soohyun, whose tearful eyes and continual bowing causes the CEO to sigh softly in compassion for his young trainee. Finally, there’s Lee Jihyun, whose memorable blood-curdling scream and softer, more apologetic offer to help as well as pay, causes the CEO to lean back in his seat with a pensive look. “It’s amazing the difference between those who think of money first rather than offering their own labor,” he muses aloud.

The designer looks to him questioningly. “It’s not really a problem to me,” Jisub confesses to her thoughtfully. “It’s probably just as good to recognize one’s own limitations.” As the last one to go, he watches Jo Eunae’s repeated apologies before he crosses his arms over his chest. “Actually, that might be the wisest choice to make… most of the time.”

October 27, 2017.

The day after the ‘pranking’ incident, So Jisub visits the girls’ dormitory in person. Aware that emotions may be running high in fear of the designer’s reprisal, the CEO requests that she accompany him as well on this visit. He and the designer wait for the girls to gather in the foyer of the dormitory before he speaks to all of them as a group.

“Congratulations on your successful practice interviews,” he begins, smiling. Although the edited versions previously seen during the episode only reveal their interview’s final question before the prank, So Jisub explains to them that he has personally watched all interviews in their full entirety. He praises the girls for their honesty, and scolds good-naturedly for those who were a little too honest about their dating opinions. However, he conveys that he isn’t disappointed in the least. He then goes on to explain the premise behind the prank-- “the importance of having a good heart and selflessness”-- before waving towards the designer to speak. On Jisub’s cue, she offers the girls her own apologetic smile and deep bow for her part as an accomplice for the test.

“You all behaved admirably,” she says, echoing So Jisub’s words. “We at Royal value those who take responsibility and offer to help even if they’re not at fault. It’s a sure sign of maturity that we can’t be more grateful for. And don’t worry, we won’t make you pay for the costume!” she adds on, laughing. The CEO is seen with his own sheepish look as he turns once more towards the girls gathered in front of him.

“I’ve seen the good in you and I know the viewers at home will be glad to see it, too.” The CEO casts a proud look over the remaining eleven girls. “There’s not going to be any elimination or group swapping based on this,” he reveals to them, and chuckles warmly at the relieved lack of tension that fills the room. “No need, I think, since really, it’s all my fault for tricking you so terribly.”

“Instead, I’m going to give you some time to relax.” So Jisub goes on to explain that, thanks to their hard work in the past few weeks, a time for respite has been well-earned by the eleven who have made it through this far in the competition. “I know it gets harder the longer a survival show goes on,” he commiserates with them aloud, “So, it’s equally important that you re-energize now in order to perform at your best again later on.”

The girls are then told that their next filming destination is to Seorak Waterpia, a water park located in Seoul where they will spend several days filming at the various locations offered at the tourist spot. From the offered hot springs, to the water rides, to eating foods at the park’s featured food court-- the girls are told to revitalize their spirits on camera in preparation for the next, much tougher challenge. For there will be one.

“Until next time, ladies.”

End of episode.

EPISODE 5, Writing Prompt:

As So Jisub explained at the end of the episode, this next episode is intended to shift gears a little bit in order to show off more of the girls’ individual personalities as they enjoy themselves at Seorak Waterpia. A water park famous for its various touristy attractions and entertainments even during the autumn months, the filming at Seorak Waterpia will take place over three days: November 2nd-3rd, and on November 6th.

During this time, the girls will group up and/or pair up (of their own choosing) to explore the attractions while cameras will follow them around through the entirety of the filming day. The girls are encouraged to have fun, however, this is a public outing and, as such, all are expected to behave appropriately as members of the show. Security will be present to prevent fans and other tourists from getting too close to the girls, though the cameras’ presence will undoubtedly attract attention from the public who are also visiting the theme park. Be on your best behavior!

The filming schedule is as follows:

November 2nd Filming location: Rainbow Stream and Spa Valley (10:30 AM to 5 PM)

November 3rd Filming Location: Shark Wave, Aqua Zone (10:30 AM to 5 PM)

November 6th Filming Location: Fun Zone (11 AM to 3 PM)

For this episode’s writing opportunities:

Required: write a 300+ word performance solo about enjoying at least one of the filming days with a group/paired partner. You can pick any of the filming days and any of the zones on that day to write about.

Optional: write a 300+ word reaction solo to hearing about the revealed prank.

Optional: write a 250+ word interview answering these specific questions:

“Do you believe you have what it takes to survive through to the end of this competition?”

“What kind of concept would you ideally like to debut with?”

The reward for writing the required solo is +5 SKILL POINTS TO BE DISTRIBUTED AS YOU WISH, +10 CHARISMA POINTS, and +5 DEBUT points, as well earning +1 week of a CHARISMA-BASED achievement of your choice. Additionally, all girls will automatically receive +1 week VARIETY achievement for being present during Episode 5. Point forms will always be due the Wednesday after a deadline passes; this means for Episode 5, verification forms should be submitted after the Activity Check post on Wednesday, November 15th. These form dates have been added to the writing schedule, so refer to it periodically to make sure everything is being submitted on time!

ROYAL SURVIVAL EPISODE 5 (for the Nov 15th form)

[ x ] *one 300+ word performance solo

+5 ____ POINTS

+10 CHARISMA POINTS

+ 5 DEBUT POINTS

+1 WK CHARISMA-BASED ACHIEVEMENT (CURRENT LEVEL + NUMBER OF TIMES TAKEN)

+1 WK VARIETY ACHIEVEMENT (CURRENT LEVEL + NUMBER OF TIMES TAKEN)

+ NEW DEBUT POINTS TOTAL:

The deadline for all solos is 3AM EST at the start of November 13th, and please tag each solo (including the interview) with #royalsurvival5. If you have any questions, feel free to send them to the Royal Survival inbox!

#rsepisode #ellyrk #rkseoyoung #rkeunae #rksoojung #seolhyunrk #rkqri #rksoohyun #rklisa #rkdawon #rkrose #rkjiwon

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romantlcdemon · 7 years ago

Text

I Know I’m Wrong, But I Can’t Help Believing

Aizawa Shouta/Present Mic (Yamada Hizashi) ; TRAITOR AU ; Traitor!Present Mic

Link: Read it on AO3

Word count: 3630

Summary:

“Yamada Hizashi.” “Huh?” “That will be your name for the entirety of this operation. You best get accustomed to it.”

He was born a villain. He was given both a mission and a new identity. This fic follows the life of “Yamada Hizashi” leading up to his exposure as the traitor of UA.

30 years ago.

He doesn’t remember the start of it. Not that it really mattered. His parents had been villains, good ones too.

25 years ago.

He grew up knowing villains the way other kids knew heros. Indoctrination is a funny thing, always a double-edged sword. Of course, villains did tend to be more disagreeable people than heros, and internal conflicts were common-- but his parents didn’t neglect him. They protected him well. He lived a good childhood, and grew into a bubbly personality with an enthusiasm that seemed untameable.

22 years ago.

His parents died. He had no extended family, and was instead taken in by the villain organization that his parents had belonged to for years. He learned toughness. He learned what it meant to survive.

15 years ago. Mission start.

“Yamada Hizashi.” “Huh?” “That will be your name for the entirety of this operation. You best get accustomed to it.” “Ah… Yes sir…” He stood in an office, facing opposite of the voice that addressed him from behind computer screen static. There was a slight echo in the tall, cold, room, and each sentence was echoed faintly back to him, as if the building itself was some kind of comic book villain’s assistant, nodding and grinning feverishly and repeating every word out its boss’s mouth. Well. Every place has its charm. Just a week prior he’d been alerted of the new mission he would be undertaking, and in the days since he hadn’t gone ten minutes without hearing a new comment on the topic. “Damn lucky kid. You realize how easy you’re gettin’ off with this? While we’re out bustin’ our asses--” “Shut up, shithead. You wouldn’t be able to last a day on undercover work. Constantly gettin’ asked questions you don’t know the answer to, comin’ up with lies on the spot. This kid here, he’s clever. He’s savin’ our asses doin’ this.” “Why’s someone this young being sent on a mission as dangerous as this, though…? How can we trust that he won’t crack under the pressure? He’s not very experienced, you know.” “No, no, it’s because he’s this young that he’s doing this. Haven’t you heard? They’re gonna enroll him in UA. We’re growing an artificial hero from the ground up. What is it those whackjob teachers call them… Eggs? We’re hatching a hero egg. It’s genius, really.” Although the constant talk was annoying, he couldn’t deny that it was all perfectly true. He’d never had a say in the matter from the start. He was the only one under the age of sixteen in the organization, and transferring someone in as a second-year already put them in the position of an outlier, so that was key. His quirk was combat-oriented and he was talented in controlling it-- again, key, because admitting someone upon basis of recommendation would have increased the complexity of the mission tenfold. Now, he received one final comment. “Today you have been made a vital piece of a master plan. You have been entrusted with a great deal of responsibility, but I have faith that you will deliver. Do not prove me wrong.” “Yes, sir.” He bowed his head and turned to exit the room, but was stopped when the voice sounded again. “What is your name, again?” He paused and took a deep breath. “Yamada… Yamada Hizashi.”

14 years ago. First goal: Admittance to UA. Complete.

He poked the mass of dark hair that rested on the desk beside him with the eraser end of his pencil. “Psst.” Five seconds of silence. “Psst.” Five more. “Psssssttt--” “What in God’s name do you want?” A single bloodshot eye glared at him from behind thick locks. “No no, it’s not God’s name that I want, I was wondering what yours is.” He flashed a beaming smile to rival that of a toothpaste model. The glare intensified before returning its focus back to the desk, and he almost thought he wouldn’t receive an answer when a muted grumble reached his ears. “Aizawa Shouta. I’m going back to sleep now.” “Wahh, cool name!! I’m Yamada Hizashi!!"

13 years ago. Second goal: Fit in. Be amiable with members of your class. Complete.

“THE VOICE HERO! PRESENT MIC!!!” He didn’t hesitate a second before scrawling those words in all capital letters on the hand-held blackboard in front of him. He added a few stars around the borders then sat back and stared at it contentedly before stealing a glance at his (self proclaimed) friend next to him. When he saw Aizawa’s board as blank as his expression, Yamada’s jaw dropped in shock. “You still haven’t decided on a name?!!” Not bothering to look back at him, Aizawa droned, “I’m not planning on appearing in any media, so it doesn’t really matter to me.” “All right… Then, how about…” Mic pensively tapped his chin with the end of his pencil, the eraser bouncing off his skin. “ERASERHEAD!!” “Fine, fine, whatever…” Mic scooted his chair over and leaned in close as he watched Aizawa draw the letters with surprisingly neat handwriting. “Ooh… Does this make us matching? I mean. Not really matching, but, we’ll both have hero names that I thought up, so that’s matching in a way, isn’t it?” He turned his head to look at Aizawa, only to realize he was nearly nose-to-nose with his classmate, and for a moment, they stared wide-eyed at each other with equal expressions of surprise. The moment was short-lived, and Aizawa’s surprise quickly shifted to annoyance. He clenched his teeth and hissed, “Do you mind?” Mic couldn’t stop two short giggles from escaping his mouth. “No, I don’t mind, but I’ll back up for your sake anyways.” He returned to his desk, but not without a wink.

12 years ago. Third goal: Become a hero. Complete.

“ERASER!!” He puffed out his chest and pointed his index finger at Aizawa with incredible mock conviction, striking a pose in his new leather jacket and tight vinyl pants, his other hand still toying with the large speaker system now wrapped uncomfortably snug around his neck. “How do I look?! As a pro hero. Wonderful, dashing, right?!” Aizawa, his attention on the paperwork in front of him which would officialize his status as a pro hero, mumbled the reply “No different from always.” The room went silent save for the scratch of Aizawa’s pen against paper, and Mic’s hand fell to his side. Noticing the change in atmosphere, Aizawa paused and looked up to see a faint pink decorating Mic’s cheeks. “Wh-- I meant-- like an idiot. No different from always, you still look like a dunce. Not dashing in the least,” Aizawa hurriedly returned his eyes to the paper, ignoring the way Mic’s eyebrows had raised, and that dumb smile that had just begun to form on his lips, the same smile he always had when Aizawa gave him a compliment, intentional or not. That smile was making an appearance more and more often, lately. Aizawa feigned a cough and brought his arm up to his face, covering the blush that had begun to appear.

10 years ago. Fourth goal: Attain a staff position at UA. Complete.

“SHOUTA!!” He yelled as the apartment door opened, and promptly rushed in, shoving a hand-sized card in Aizawa’s face. “What…” “LOOK AT IT!!” He furiously shook the card, it’s surface tapping against Aizawa’s nose. “How the hell am I supposed to look at anything when you’re waving it like that?” He snatched the card out of his hands, and walked to the kitchen, where he sat on a stool and placed the card on the counter, inspecting it. UA STAFF TEACHER HERO DEPARTMENT PRESENT MIC Aizawa’s eyes widened, and he ran the tip of his finger over the UA insignia printed in the top corner. “When did you…” “Last month!! There was an opening! And I was one of the first applicants, and I got accepted last week, but I wanted to keep it a surprise, and today I finally got the ID…” Aizawa turned and looked at Mic. At his proud smile and eager posture, the way his gloved hands were clenched into excited fists at his side. He couldn’t see his eyes behind his sunglasses, but he knew the way they were crinkling at the corners, bright green irises seemingly sparkling. Mic looked at him too, and saw the way he didn’t blink when those tired eyes scanned him. It was something he’d noticed he’d do when he saw a cute cat too, or when he stared at his favorite painting in the art museum on the other side of the city. It was a beautiful way to look at things. Mic wondered if what he saw was the same thing he did when he looked in the mirror-- a fake, a rat, a villain. He hoped he never saw it. “What?” “H-..Huh?” Mic shook his head, coming back to reality. “Your face got awful serious all the sudden.” Aizawa blinked, his eyebrows lowered. The room was silent for a moment. “Got the shits again?” Mic’s mouth dropped open, then screwed up into a twisted cringe. “THAT WAS TWO WEEKS AGO!! AND IT WAS BECAUSE OF THAT DAMN TAKEOUT!! I TOLD YOU THAT RESTAURANT WAS SKETCHY, I DON’T KNOW WHY YOU LIKE IT SO MUCH!!”

5 years ago. Strike one: Become emotionally involved. Complete.

“Eraserhead, huh…? Congratulations.” Mic twirled the ring around in his hand, rubbing the engraving on the inside. /Always./ He took a pensive breath, slipping the ring on to his finger only to take it off again and resume fidgeting. “... Yeah. Thank you.” The ceremony had been beautiful, outdoors, with just enough breeze from the ocean to take the edge off the summer sun shining bright and golden overhead. Clean white suits, flower petals on the grass. Mic had organized the wedding in its aesthetics, on the condition that Aizawa organized the guest list. Mic had held those rough and scarred hands in his, looked into his dark brown eyes and told him, “I will love you forever.” In that moment, the words were endlessly sincere. Mic’s eyes saw nothing but him, his head thought of nothing but him. A blissful tunnel vision, now torn apart by the accomplice sitting on the worn couch in front of him. Torn, because the man, sneering crookedly and tapping his cigarette over an ashtray, was not congratulating him on his marriage. He was congratulating him on ensnaring himself inextricably deeper into his mission, into his very own lies and tricks and illusions. The way his glossy eyes squinted in the low light spelled a phrase unsaid: “Good fucking luck.”

1 year ago. Strike two: Stray from the objective. Complete.

“Mic.” “Mic.” “M--” Mic jumped, blinking rapidly. A low groan escaped his throat, which was throbbing, raw and sore. He tried to move his hand, and was met with a sharp pain shooting up his arm. Where was he? “Oh thank god…” Midnight sighed deeply, letting go a breath she’d been holding. “I told you he’d be fine. What, did you think I’d lie to you? You think I’m new to this?” Recovery girl replied in a tone of disbelief, quietly shaking her head. Oh. So that’s where he was. That’s what all the blurry white was-- the ceiling of the UA infirmary. He tried moving his hand again, only to have someone else’s cover it, and gently hold it in place. “No, Hizashi. Not yet.” A voice, deep and soft, murmured beside him. Mic turned his head, and found that a stiff, scratchy material restricted the movement of his neck. A brace. “You knocked yourself out pretty good, Mister. I don’t know what you were expecting taking on a villain twice your size all on your own. He was a monster. Not that you’d remember after that bump on your head, though.” It’s true, Mic didn’t remember fighting him. But he remembered the events before. The words that had reached his ears through the grapevine, that his organization would soon be sending an attack to breach the walls of UA. The cold, dense feeling in his gut, the anxiety shaking his fingers for days before he glanced out the window and saw a familiar face walking on the street below him. How had his legs run that fast? His mind had been left three steps behind. Perhaps his sense of pain had, too. The face he’d recognized was that of one of the most powerful grunts he knew, with a muscle manipulation quirk that gave him incredible mass and strength. Mic was no longer confused as to why a bone-deep ache was currently radiating through his entire body. The pain didn’t matter so much after he blinked again, though, when he saw Aizawa’s face mere inches away from his own, his eyebrows knit together in concern, the corners of his mouth curling upwards slowly as Mic met his eyes. “You’re a real idiot, you know.” No kidding. He’d just sent a member of his own association to the slammer. In a dark twist of irony, he’d committed a betrayal within a betrayal and deliberately shut down another mission-- and by extension, compromised his as well. This wasn’t pretty. Well, the situation wasn’t. Aizawa was.

1 month ago. Strike three (You’re out.): Reveal mission. Complete.

“Traitor…” he muttered, inaudible at first. “There’s gotta be a traitor in our midst.” Why did he say that? Why? Even now, he can’t answer that question with confidence. The knowledge of what he was doing, of who he was, was a constant storm above him, raining and pouring. Increasingly each day seemed like monsoon season, and the waters had now reached dangerous levels-- perhaps this was a cry for help. But what help? There’s no lifeguard to pull him out of this one. This guilt isn’t a swimming pool, it’s an ocean. That day the water made a crack in the dam, and before he could register the words coming out, he was defending the hypothesis that would mean the termination of his mission. Maybe that’s what he wanted. Even then, though, he’d had some silly illusion in his head that there was a possible future in which that termination wasn’t something ugly and blood-soaked. That it would just be over, and he could go back home and hang up his jacket and leave the memories outside the door. He would walk down the hall and into the living room and see his Prince Charming laying on the couch with his eyes closed, a hand absentmindedly petting the cat who lay on his belly. Just like that, they’d live happily ever after. But in truth, he knew that he was no star-crossed pure protagonist. He was a villain. And there are no happy endings waiting for him.

1 week ago.

He knew it was coming, and soon. He never returned the looks, but he felt the stares on his back, everywhere he went. He didn’t hear their voices, but he knew the words they spoke when they turned away, what all the topics of the recent meetings had been about, and why his attendance had not been requested. It was inevitable, and perhaps that knowledge was what hurt the most, despite the fact that he’d known it from the start. All things come to an end, for better or for worse. For better or for worse, he still came home that night and smiled with the same toothy grin he’d flashed when they first met eyes all those years ago. The air felt just as heavy in his home as it did everywhere else, but he ignored it, the same way one ignores the pain of a wound as they utter their last words. “I love you, Shouta…” The man in his arms did not reply, but Mic didn’t mind. He knew they both understood the state of the present, and the path of the future. But now, in this moment, all that mattered is that he could still feel his warmth, his thick hair, and scarred skin. His heart beating, strong and unfaltering. It reassured Mic. Even when he was gone, as long as that heart kept beating… That would be okay. Mic would be okay with that. “Do you know that? I love you so much.”

1 day ago.

He left everything that day. Ungraded papers, happy birthday cards. Birth certificate, forged. His UA student uniform, that he still kept in a box in the closet. The speaker system he’d spent a whole year building and installing in every room, so the music never got far away. The leather jackets he’d been collecting since he was seventeen. Two rings on the nightstand. What did he care? Why would he miss it? All those documents, cards, certificates and records were all written with that fucking fake name. But somewhere along the way, it had started to feel real. Not when his teacher had called it out and he had answered, not when he had wrote it a thousand times and repeated it a thousand more. It was when Aizawa Shouta said his name that it sounded real. Maybe it was because he’d wantedthat name to be his. Something like, ‘If that’s the name he’s calling, then that’s me.’ It was all too real. A mask that became part of his skin. And now he had to rip it off. “... Hizashi…?” Aizawa rubbed his face, and his eyes cracked open to look at the face of the man kneeling by his bedside. He smiled and gently shook his head, placing a hand on Aizawa’s cheek. With his thumb he lightly brushed the corner of Aizawa’s lips, and looked into those deep brown eyes, glazed over with sleepiness. It was 3am. When Aizawa woke up in the morning, this memory should seem like a dream. He wished so desperately that every memory could seem that way, that he could wake up tomorrow with no clear recollection, only the faint notion that /perhaps/ something had occurred in those days past, but nothing of great consequence, that all of this would fade into nothing and he would continue on his way unaffected by the rest. For Aizawa, at least this moment would be a dream. For him, the memory would be burned like a brand in his mind.

10 minutes ago. Mission end.

“Yamada Hizashi.” “Yes.” “That has been your name for… how long, was it?” “Fifteen years, sir.” “Ah… Truly a long time. And you held out quite well.” The voice was momentarily muddled by television static. The warped light of the screen manipulated the shadows of the room, and the pupils of his eyes, unprotected by sunglasses, shrunk and dilated in alternation to adjust. “Excuse me.” The static settled. “Now… You have made mistakes. You are more aware of that than even I am.” The voice paused. If it was to gauge a reaction, then there was nothing to find, because he didn’t flinch, didn’t shudder, didn’t clench his fists. Green eyes stared unblinkingly forward, waiting for him to continue. “However, I don’t think any punishment will be necessary. The work you have completed has allowed great advances in our organization. Advances that you have seen yourself…” The image of Aizawa’s scar flashed behind his eyes. “... and some you have yet to see. I understand you have not come with much, today. And readjusting will not be easy. But I assure you, living in reality has its perks as well.”

Now.

“Good afternoon, Present M--” “That’s not my name.” Kurogiri paused, and looked at him for a moment from his place behind the counter. His dark face betrayed no emotion, as usual, but it was clear what was going through his mind. He took a seat on the barstool at the end, put his elbows on the counter, and put his head in his hands. “You’re wearing your hair down today.” Kurogiri remarked as he resumed his task polishing glassware. “Mic was the one who put his hair up.” He didn’t move his eyes from the counter. Even without looking, he was aware of the gaze he was receiving. Boy, had he gotten good at feeling stares. “Perhaps it would be best to cut it.” He didn’t respond for a while, just silently ran his fingers through his hair. It was soft, that’s what Aizawa would always say. That had been his excuse for petting it and playing with it, as if he were more a cat than the one they already had. His fingers twitched and paused. “Don’t wanna use my quirk anymore either.” He felt the stare shifting. “Try as you might, that may be unavoidable. Your role now is the symbol of UA’s internal weakness. One way or another, you’ll be made to stand at the front lines. And regardless of your unique status, missions will continue to be assigned, and you will be expected to complete them, just like the rest of us.” He switched to rubbing the bridge of his nose. He felt his breath hissing against his palms. “What you did wasn’t easy, and we commend you for that. But it is over now.” A drink was set in front of him, and the glass hit the counter with a ‘clink’. “Today marks the start of something new.” His arm swung out and struck the drink, and the glass hit the floor with a shattering symphony, cascading cracks and snaps bouncing their echos off the hard brick walls. The sound of something that was, in the past, a beautiful and carefully crafted object, transforming into its present form, ugly and dangerous. Scattered across the floor, the broken glass caught the light and sparkled, as if offering a knowing wink. “Someone new.”

#fic #boku no hero academia #posted on request #bnha #present mic #yamada hizashi #my hero academia #mha

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thegirlandfilm · 8 years ago

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Center Stage and Nostalgic Postmodernism

Stanley Kwan’s 1992 film “Center Stage” tells the story of the famous Chinese silent film actress, Ruan Lingyu. Reaching immense fame at the age of 16, and the sudden end to her life at 25 has made Ruan and integral part of China’s film history. She is known as one of China’s most talented actresses for her immersing emotional performance in the pre-sound era of the 1930’s (Farquahar 253). In the years that passed between Ruan’s death and Kwan’s film, Ruan became a mystified character in Chinese legacy. Kwan’s film attempts to revive Ruan’s image through a remarkably realistic depiction of Ruan’s life. “Center Stage” comes at a time in the 1990’s when China felt an immense nostalgia for their cultural past, and the film attempts to bridge this gap between the past and present with Ruan’s story. The film is notably of the nostalgia film genre, and not of the similar heritage film genre. This is because it longingly looks back at China’s 1930’s past, suggesting through Cheung’s character that the past is more significant and attractive than the present (Hjort 28). It also suggests that Chinese culture has been subject to the same fate as Ruan, tragically and suddenly disappearing into Chinese history. The film was produced during a postcolonialist Hong Kong and postsocialist China period, but explores China’s vastly different past in attempt to understand the political climate of the 1990’s (Cui 60). Approaching the end of the century, China was transforming from the affects of globalization and a changing political climate. Just before the China gained control over Hong Kong’s sovereignty in 1997, Hong Kong was in a liminal state politically and subsequently, culturally. In this medial time, with shifting cultural values and the emergence commercialization, China developed an unstable identity that long to be secured. Films thereby sought to make sense of this new emerging China and find its new identity by looking at it’s past through a specifically postmodern lens. This desire to solidify a new cultural identity was perpetuated by the Hong Kong New Wave Cinema, a style that inspired Stanley Kwan and this production (62). In “Center Stage”, Kwan looks to the mythicized life of Ruan Lingyu to explore these issues of cultural identity. The time of the films production creates a consciously postmodern presentation of the past with three representations of the past: Ruan’s story told through Maggie Chueng’s performance, historical film clips, and a self reflexive present day consciousness of the film being made. These three modes of storytelling come together to create a distinctly postmodern representation of the past. Kwan decision to explore China’s history through a female character has come to be an auteurial marker of his films, and also speaks to the transforming role of women in China’s postmodern society.

In a descriptive documentation of the production of “Center Stage”, the films researcher Jiao Xionping reveals how the search for historical information of Ruan’s past lead to the film’s unintentional postmodernism. Kwan and his production team collected information from newspapers, biographies, and books that focussed on Ruan’s film career. Kwan’s desire for an accurate depiction of the actress lead him to reach out to Ruan’s godsons for a parents diary that included an entry on the night before Ruan’s suicide. The crew conducted interviews with older crew members who worked with her in attempt to construct an accurate depiction of Ruan’s off-screen personality. With this extensive information that was gathered, Kwan is able to provide a Chinese audience with a satisfyingly truthful representation of their beloved actress. Kwan recognizes the importance of providing Chinese viewers with an accurate portrayal of the actress as she is such an integral part of China’s cultural history and a source of pride. After gathering this information, Xiongping describes the crews confusion with formatting the film. Initially, Kwan wanted to present the film through a stories-within-stories style. But being too complicated, Xionping suggested creating a documentary of the films production process to decide later whether to use it or not (Xiongping 6). The crew ultimately decided to intercut the film with historical and documentary footage, making the film one of Hong Kong’s more complex and sophisticate productions. The film’s production is quite unusual and can be considered as a collaborative production between director and researchers. It’s artistic complexity and pastiche-like quality is beyond Kwan’s original intention, but works in its favour due to the period of its release. Xionping notes that “Center Stage” is a very nineties film, “In the movies of the fifties and sixties, all that was needed was an interesting plot, but in the nineties, in addition to this, the film should also include contemporary people’s feelings and a multifaceted understanding of the world” (Xiongping 7). The film goes beyond the story of Ruan’s life, but reveals her importance in Chinese culture, different perspectives of her, and compares her to the currently famous Chinese film actress, Cheung. Through Xiongping’s description of the production process, it seems that “Center Stage” originally intended to create an accurate and in depth depiction of Ruan for a Chinese audience. However, the wealth of historical clips and documentary footage resulted in an unintentional postmodern production that appeals on an international scale.

The film’s marketing works to target a Chinese feelings of nostalgia for the past, and consequently targets a global audience through the image of a significant female protagonist. Much can be read from the film original poster that was advertised in China and Hong Kong. In the poster, Maggie Cheung as Ruan poses in a doorframe, pensively looking at the outside world. Her make-up, dress, and the blurry visual quality of the image all work to suggest an image of the past. The poster has an overall quality that is reminiscent to a vintage photograph. This draws on the nostalgic feeling of a potential Chinese audience, who would immediately recognize the iconic image of Ruan. Her position in the doorframe and pensive expression work can be read as the films claim to reveal an inside look inside Ruan’s personal life, and her emotional battles before her death. Three biographies have been published on Ruan’s life, and there is clearly a large interest in the life of China’s beloved actress and her tragic death. Visually, the poster claims to unveil the mystery of personal Ruan’s life. The film clearly targets an audience who is familiar with Ruan’s legacy. Yet by creating a picture around a successful progressive actress for her time, the film coincidentally attracts a global audience. As the image of the past is used in the Chinese viewer, the female centrality of the film draws in those foreign to China’s popular culture and history. In the 1990’s in china, lifestyle magazines began to promote new images of educated and elegant career women. This transition parallels the exponential growth of female power in the workplace, media, and politics in other parts of the world. Particularly the United States, which dominates global media. The use of a successful and legendary female icon consequentially contributes to its potential appeal on an international film market.

The film seeks both a Chinese and international audience; it plays upon the nostalgia of Ruan’s place in Chinese history, and tells the story through a postmodern lense, contributing to its international appeal. The film was received well both domestically and internationally, as shown in various film festivals and reviews. The film won five domestic awards at the 1993 Hong Kong Film Awards for Best Actress, Cinematography, Art Direction, Original Film Score, and Original Film Song. It also succeeded critically on an international level at the Berlin International Film Festival, Chicago International Film festival, and received a wealth of appraisals from foreign critics. In Reader (Chicaco, III), a reviewer describes the film as “A masterpiece by Stanley Kwan, the greatest Hong Kong Film I’ve seen” (Rosenbaum 1). He describes the triply juxtaposed mode of storytellling, a postmodern feature, to be particuarly enthralling experience. Its postmodern qualities are recognized by other international critics. Film reviewer Tod Booth praises the film by stating “More than just a gorgeous recreation, [Center Stage] collapses time as the actors step out of their roles to talk about them, or watch filmed interviews with the now elderly actors that they are portraying. The film evokes a profound web of resonances as it explores Ruan’s life and art, and the complex ways that film dissolves the line between life and art, time and space, past and present” (Booth 2014). It is similarly praised by the Toronto Film Festival, the Rotterdam Film Festival, and the San Fransisco International Film Festival. Although Kwan’s film is culturally specific, the tragedy of Ruan’s life is intriguing to any viewer. The films works through three different methods of storytelling to play on the historical memories of the Chinese viewer, and inform the likely unfamiliar international viewer. Kwan is strategic in his use of the postmodern aesthetic, as the documentary and historical clips answer the questions an international audience may ask, and provide and cultural context that is lost in other, typically older, Hong Kong films. “Center Stage” works as an example that nationally specific films can be interesting to a foreign viewer and successful on a global scale. Although the film is in Cantonese, revolves around an specifically Chinese icon within a explicitly Chinese setting, cultural specificity does not deny film the ability to be appealing to other cultures.

Through the figure of Ruan, the film tells a story that is relevant to every culture. It’s review from the London Film Festival finds the film to be successful not for its postmodernist techniques, but its human sentiment that is cross cultural. Maggie Cheung’s performance, although in Cantonese, it is deeply moving allowing it to transcend language barriers. It writes, “[Maggie Cheung] is nevertheless doubly moving because she reminds us that despair can hide behind a smiling face”(London Film Festival, 1). Kwan’s film is an example that nationalistic cinema can also dually exist as world cinema. The film gives a Chinese audience insight and stability to its current cultural identity by exploring its past. To a foreign audience, the film presents an image of Hong Kong’s current identity. The self reflexive moments of Maggie Cheung’s interview reveal the relevant state of current Hong Kong cinema and popular culture. The film does not just merely historicize the past, but the present as well through its postmodern form.

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nosellmag-blog · 6 years ago

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The last time we here at No Sell Magazine spoke to Ms. Tien she was on the eve of the biggest re-debut in wrestling history. Possibly the biggest eve of her life. With hair still long, and a look of pensive tranquility on her face, so reminiscent of her father, it was easy to see that she would do well in the business. But it was also easy to see she still had a few hard lessons left to learn. A year later, with her hair shorter, cheeks a bit rounder, having recovered from beatings, and bruises served out at the hands of former family friend Takahara, and having led the IWA into a new era as the IGWA, there seems to be only one thing left for Ms. Tien to learn, when to call it quits. It’s a lesson most don’t learn. I met up with Ms. Tien to discuss the future of the IGWA, professional wrestling as a whole, and if there’s a future for either at all.

We meet at the memorial for Hai Tien built in the city that he once called home. The memorial is a 2.5 meter statue of Hai in a pose that is for fans a familiar one, his body leaned backward, with leg raised in a super-kick. I ask Ms. Tien how much the statue cost and what it means to her. I don’t know whether she is thinking about the question or about her father. She stares past the statue out to the blue waters calmly shifting behind it, past the boats rocking on the surface, and beyond perhaps the world itself.

“They tell me it cost around 100,000 dollars, the fans raised the money,” she says disinterestedly, moving a hand around at the base of her neck. I wonder if she is embarrassed at the cost, or the fact that she didn’t give the money herself, “as for what it means,” she puckers her lips and moves them a little to the side. Is is always the case that meanings are hard to apprehend? “I think it shows how much wrestling, and my father once meant to them.”

I comment on her usage of ‘meant,’ past tense. Does she think that the days of caring are gone? Have we then moved, I ask, from the shameless brutality era to the limitless apathy era? She smirks, not finding the joke funny. Her hands are behind her back now. She hasn’t looked at me since I arrived, still staring somewhere beyond the horizon.

“I don’t know. Apathy,” she says the word as if weighing it, is there a better word? “Viewership is up or down depending on who you ask. Seems like it’s at about the level my brother and dad had in their prime, but, but something is different.”

I ask her about expectations.

“I think the wrestlers are different,” she’s nods slightly, “when my brother was in the business the world of pro wrestling was booming. Think of it, you had three leagues, the WBL, the GUW, and the IFA, all of which were playing with and against each other, all three creating new talent, producing new stars, and giving wrestlers options if their careers didn’t work out in the other leagues. I mean, where would a guy like Heartless Kid be without the WBL? Now days midcard wrestlers, who, for whatever reason, aren’t winning have no option. We have stake holders and share holders and investors and all these other things and it keeps the talent from really being able to be themselves. Forgive me for rambling, but it seems like people were more free in Billy Lo’s era to really express themselves, and get over with the fans even if they weren’t winners. Look at Rude Daoud, look at Golden Thunder in the WBL. I can tell you honestly that a wrestler who lost as much as those two, without us being able to follow his life, and see him backstage, you know as a real human being, doesn’t stand a chance of keeping people interested.”

We are back on the word apathy. I ask her if it’s the case that a more pasteurized, glitzier product devoid of any edge or competition or potential for character development is the reason for the, I use the word again, sense of apathy that seems to envelop us like a low cloud. She raises her eyebrows and looks over her shoulder at me. I notice dark circles around her eyes. How long can she keep this up? Does she even want to anymore?

“Without the WBL it’s a lonely business. Fans or no fans, it’s peers that make a real difference. I have no peers. See that’s something that I never understood, still don’t understand I mean. Why is it that Billy fought so hard to destroy the GUW? Why was it that Dean Waroff fought so hard to take down the WBL? There’s nothing worse than loneliness, nothing worse than having no one that’s going through the same things you are, no one to commiserate with, to bounce ideas off of, to...”

She pauses and furrows her brow. She is looking for something, something else that’s lonely about the business. This sense of being terribly alone is also something new about Ms. Tien. Though she comes to ring with a smile still painted on, she is not the determined yet peppy Ms. Tien of a year ago. She has outlived and outlasted her competition, and her family, by means commendable and crooked has survived and thrived in wrestling age after age, but at what cost? She is in a sense an endangered species, one of one, and her moniker of the Last Dragon now takes on a much more somber meaning. After her, it seems, there will be no more.

“You’re wondering how long I can keep this up for,” she smiles, as if pleased at having read my mind, “wondering if it’s getting to me, being the last wrestling promoter, the last league owner, the last of the Tien family,” she tilts her head back and looks up at the sky. Thin clouds are passing overhead, a soft gray against a grayer sky. “The truth is I don’t know. I really don’t. I came back because I felt that there was some unfinished business, something I had to repair, a legacy I had to redefine. Even if it meant nothing to anyone else, it meant something to me. “But,” she looks down, at the base of her father’s statue where flowers lay, petals have been scattered by the wind, withered roses sag at the top of the stem thorns still strong but heads dark and shriveling, “but when, or how, do I know that my work, that work of mending what was torn is finished?”

I tell her that I think she’s done a good job. She built a new league, crowned new champions. I mention Ring of Gold, possibly her brother’s greatest contribution to the wrestling business. I tell her that the fans are expecting at least one more. A big one. Perhaps she’s made good on her vows to her father, but there might be something she owes the fans. She doesn’t seem to hear me.

“You know, before all of this, Q, Director Q, said that it was a foolish idea to try and recreate the league. He put it in writing if you can still find it. He said that it was better left dead, that even he got the urge to try and build it all up again but...”

She is referencing a letter that, then, Agent Q sent out about his pursuit and final encounter with the enigmatic Dean Waroff. Q said, in so many words, that to try and recapture the past, was somehow a perversion, one that would always produce bitter fruit. I thought then, and still think now, that Q was a pessimist. I ask Ms. Tien about regrets, if when she called it a day, if when she turned off the lights on the IGWA and the Tien family’s tenure in the wrestling business, would she have any.

“Regrets,” she stops for a moment and is again looking beyond the statue of her father, perhaps looking at that day, not so far from now when she says to the league, that it turns out the show doesn’t really have to go on after all. “No, no regrets.”

I put away my things and look one last time at the bronze statue of her father, frozen in a fighting stance forever, restless as if the battle, somehow, somewhere still rages. He strikes the air, the atmosphere. Perhaps it is the last enemy left. Can a battle against it be won in a wrestling ring? There really is more to life than choke slams and body blows. More to life than title changes, endless feuds, than chairshots, and double-crosses, more than backstage betrayals and punching, kicking and cutting promos all the way to the top. I think Ms. Tien, if she never did before, is realizing it now. I tell her that I hope it never changes, her not having any regrets.

“One last question,” I say. She looks over her shoulder at me.

“Mhm?”

“Is there any chance, any chance at all that the league could go on? Any chance that we could be, somehow, on the verge of another golden age of wrestling?”

Is it such a far fetched dream? The IWA survived apathy, it survived long un-televised hiatuses. It battled it’s way back as the IFA after bankruptcy, it outlasted boxing and MMA and mass deletions. And it came back time after time better than ever, healthier and more alive, not less. What makes the present apathy so different from the ones before? She looks at me as if she pities me. I see the difference in her eyes, the IWA, the IFA all came back yes. But they never came back alone. And despite her reply, I know the answer to my question.

“The future is still unwritten,” she says. Her smile is almost imperceptible. I thank her for her time time, then turn my back on Hai’s memorial and walk away.

#IGWA interview #Ms. Tien

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phynxrizng · 7 years ago

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DAILY ASTROLOGY REPORTS AND HOROSCOPES FOR, 2-7-18

Astrology Cafe Daily Astrology ABOUT TODAY DAILY MONTHLY CHART You are here: Home / Daily Astrology / Astrology of Today – Wednesday, February 7, 2018 Astrology of Today – Wednesday, February 7, 2018 Feb 5, 2018 by Annie Leave a Comment The Moon is in Scorpio. The Moon is waning and in its Waning Gibbous phase until 10:53 AM, after which the Moon is in its Last Quarter phase. The Last Quarter Moon occurs today at 10:53 AM, and the New Moon/Solar Eclipse will occur on February 15th in the sign of Aquarius. **Times are Eastern Standard Time (EST). Daily Astro Highlights for each Sign: Aries Aries You can feel a little divided today, dear Aries, as you have many social inclinations or desires to experiment, explore, and change, while you also feel a strong call to enjoy quiet, non-demanding situations. One side of you is chatty, the other pensive and observant. This shouldn’t pose too much of a problem as long as you find ways to satisfy both needs. The Moon spends the day in your intimacy sector, and you’re drawn to experiences and activities that help you better understand your inner workings and the motivations of people around you. Getting in touch with our deeper selves is essential work from time to time, as very often we are going through life on autopilot. This year, with Jupiter also in this sector, it’s a particularly enlightening process. Today, you might learn of something helpful that was previously hidden or private. Taurus Taurus The Moon is in your opposite sign all day, dear Taurus, and this puts your emotional focus on others, especially a close relationship, partnership, or another one-on-one scenario. It also stimulates sensitivity to those things in your life that feel as if they’ve become out of balance. It’s a good time to turn to others for help, support, or advice, but it’s important to “own” any decision that comes out of this process. Ideas generated with or about relationships are winners today. Relationship and practical goals may seem to clash in the first half of the day, but as the day progresses, you’ll find it easier to enjoy both. Gemini Gemini The Moon spends the day in your work and health sector, dear Gemini, and you’ll be motivated to handle details, deal with practical affairs, and get some work done today. Instead of dwelling on flaws, which you see more clearly right now, you are inclined to make good use of your time by fixing problems and feeling accomplished as a result. Jupiter as a long-term guest in this same sector of your solar chart generally makes more fun out of routine for you this year. Keeping yourself busy and willingness to play a supportive role seem to be the best strategies at this point in the lunar month. If you throw your energy into something that truly pleases you now, you’re likely to feel stronger and happier for it. Cancer Cancer While good energy continues for your inner world, depth emotions, and intimate connections, dear Cancer, today is a time for remembering to have fun, entertain and be entertained, and get creative. You’re likely to wrestle with this earlier today but own it as the day progresses. As the Moon aligns with Jupiter today, you can enjoy happier moods and a stronger ability to take daily affairs in stride. There is a sense that you are more in charge of your happiness, and of course, this is the case. This transit amps up emotions surrounding the joys of romance, love, entertainment, and creative activities in your life. Leo Leo The Scorpio Moon today highlights the sector of home and family in your solar chart, dear Leo, encouraging you to slow down rather than rev up. You might prefer to stick close to home or regular, familiar routines as a result. Your heart may be with family or you are more introspective than usual. There is very sociable energy with you these days, and this continues some more as a general, but today you’re likely to require more time to regroup, renew, and relax. Soulful moments or everyday activities are in the spotlight. As Mercury and Neptune form a semi-sextile, there can be some tendency for conversations to bother you on a deeper level if someone’s not getting you today. Verbalizing your wants may help. Virgo Virgo The Moon aligns with Jupiter in your communications sector today, dear Virgo, expanding your sense of emotional satisfaction from learning, connecting, and communicating — areas of general increase and good fortune in recent months and for many months to come. Jupiter has a way of magnifying feelings, whether they’re good or bad, however, so if there are problem areas, you may feel them more acutely. The Moon first clashes with the Sun today, and you may feel you have a little too much on your plate, but as the day advances, you’re likely to find a happier balance. It’s a busy day, and the trick will be to keep your head on straight! The lines are open for communications, particularly with a partner or for other one-on-one interactions. Multi-tasking is okay for you right now, and can even benefit you. Libra Libra The Moon aligns with Jupiter in your solar second house today, dear Libra. This can have the effect of expanding your feelings of emotional satisfaction surrounding your level of comfort or security, talents, or current financial situation. It’s a time for appreciating what you have and looking for ways to boost your feelings of security and comfort. Certainly with much planetary activity in your outgoing, creative sector these days, you have been a little more willing to take a risk, but today, you crave and need some predictability. Any activity that reconnects you to the physical world of the five senses can be helpful and healing now. You continue to experience many new and exciting developments in your life, and it makes sense to center yourself for the sake of clarity and calm. Scorpio Scorpio The Moon transits your sign all day, dear Scorpio, and for the most part, you’re in the position to set the pace, although not everyone is following your lead today. Your emotional desires and personal needs are upfront and center. Allow your emotions to report to you rather than rule you for best results. You can find an active channel for expressing your feelings through communication mediums today. Romantic energy is also in good form. This morning, you may have trouble integrating your need to trailblaze and your desire to stick with what’s familiar. Later, the Moon aligns with Jupiter, pulling up your feelings of emotional satisfaction for review. Sagittarius Sagittarius The Moon spends the day in the sign just behind yours today, dear Sagittarius, and will enter Sagittarius tomorrow. This is not a time when you’re unusually forthcoming or expressive with your feelings, as you can be a little guarded, but it’s also a time when you are processing recent experiences, and it can take a bit of time to get in touch with your innermost feelings. Some tension is possible this morning as the Moon clashes with the Sun, and your needs to connect and communicate seem to conflict with needs to wind down. Tackle areas of guilt that may be preventing you from getting the break you need and deserve. You might thoroughly enjoy a breather or healthy escape from the demands of daily life, especially as the day advances. Capricorn Capricorn Today brings a stronger desire to be around people, dear Capricorn, and the need to diversify, experiment, and enjoy new or unusual experiences, thanks to today’s Moon transit. The Sun in your predictable, middle-of-the-road second house clashes with the Moon in the first half of the day, and it can take a bit of time to figure out how to manage these things. However, the Moon also aligns with Jupiter in your social sector, pulling up strong feelings about friends, goals, hopes, and dreams. Common philosophies and beliefs are apparent now, perhaps because you’re seeking to see them! You’re embracing the idea of gently pushing the usual boundaries and seeking out different experiences. Your more inventive and innovative side can blossom now. Aquarius Aquarius The Moon spends the day at the top of your solar chart, dear Aquarius, highlighting your career and reputation sector, and will continue to do so until tomorrow morning. If you feel things heating up in your career or your public life, you’re very much in tune. This morning, the Sun in your sign clashes with the Moon, and you can feel a tense pull between needs to perform and desires for independence. However, the Moon aligns with Jupiter, and it becomes more comfortable and natural to follow your goals, and possibly even the rules! There can be a boost to your reputation, public life, or career. You may be feeling more appreciated for the work you do, and with the feedback positive, you are motivated to do an even better job. You may be in a position to shine through meeting a responsibility, or simply to enjoy recent successes today. Pisces Pisces While there is undoubtedly a time for concentrating on details, dear Pisces, today you need to take a step back to see the bigger picture. As well, doing something entirely different than the usual can be a goal now. This energy seems to clash with the Sun currently encouraging you to take things easy and relax, but you may very well find that taking a step out of your routine allows you to refresh yourself emotionally. With Jupiter, a long-term guest in your solar ninth house, opening up and broadening your perception of the world, and today, the Moon tapping into this energy, this broad, expansive theme is reinforced. You might be attracted to a cause that inspires or expands your worldview. You might have a pleasant conversation, hear news, or read something that makes you feel hopeful or encourages a new idea or interest. * Remember to read horoscopes for your Ascendant sign and Sun sign. If you don’t know your Ascendant sign (and you know your birth time), you can look it up here. Above are astrological event highlights for the day. Full Horoscopes are on Cafe Astrology. If Your Birthday is February 7th, If Today is Your Birthday full horoscope here. Astrology of Today – The Details: If you’re astrologically inclined and interested in the details of the Astrology of today, here are some of the factors considered in the forecasts (for the astrology of the week, see This Week in Astrology): Planet Color Key: The longer the bar, the slower the aspecting planet and the longer the duration of the planet’s transit. Date & Time: Feb 7, 2018, at 0:00 am Event: Moon in Scorpio Description: The Moon in Scorpio Contemplate the deeper things in life. Avoid unnecessary conflict, but if it’s going to improve your life, go ahead and make waves. Tune in to your intuition. This is a good time for investigations, looking into a matter further, doing research, connecting to others with a shared passion, solving a mystery, and devising a strategy. When the Moon in Scorpio is strained, we may take our passions too far. Date & Time: Feb 7, 2018, at 10:53 am Event: Third Quarter at 18°Sc49′ Date & Time: Feb 7, 2018, at 3:21 am Event: Tr-Tr Mon Sqr Nod Description: Transiting Moon Square Transiting North Node This is the trigger for out with the old and in with the new. We could feel at odds with others on an emotional level. Public relations are not as favorable now. Plans could need reworking. We could feel temporarily out of the loop. Date & Time: Feb 7, 2018, at 10:53 am Event: Tr-Tr Mon Sqr Sun Description: Transiting Moon Square Transiting Sun This is a time for noticing discrepancies. Self-expression doesn’t flow well, and conflicts can be stirred. There can be some resistance and irritability. This can be a time when we’re compelled to take action, make changes, and solve problems. Date & Time: Feb 7, 2018, at 1:15 pm Event: Tr-Tr Mon Sxt Plu Description: Transiting Moon Sextile Transiting Pluto This can be a good time for getting loans, for taking care of business, and for dealing with money matters. It’s also good for getting in touch with feelings and managing them effectively. There can be a boost to our intimate life, creative impulses, and self-understanding. Events occurring now might involve some kind of karmic repayment or benefit. We could discover new information, hidden information, or a lost item. This is a time for recycling – seeing new uses for old items. True feelings come to the surface. Date & Time: Feb 7, 2018, at 2:11 pm Event: Tr-Tr Mon SSq Sat Description: Transiting Moon SemiSquare Transiting Saturn We could feel burdened, restricted, or limited during this brief influence. We could be feeling a little down on ourselves, excluded, or lonely. There can be some awkwardness or stiffness and difficulty showing affection and feelings. Patience is a virtue right now; otherwise we might succumb to feelings of frustration and sadness. All good things come to those who wait. Date & Time: Feb 7, 2018, at 4:56 pm Event: Tr-Tr Mon Cnj Jup Description: Transiting Moon Conjunction Transiting Jupiter We want to do good and to honor our inner code. We are generous with our energy, time, and money. Our feelings expand or are magnified, for better or for worse. It’s generally a good time to teach, learn, write, express ourselves, reach out, travel, publish, and promote. We may go over the top. Date & Time: Feb 7, 2018, at 6:34 pm Event: Tr-Tr Mon Sqr Jun Description: Transiting Moon Square Transiting Juno There may be clinging or controlling behavior if we are driven by our fears. Hypersensitivity and moodiness are possible. Tread lightly with tricky emotional issues. Date & Time: Feb 7, 2018, at 11:16 pm Event: Tr-Tr Mon Qnx Ura Description: Transiting Moon Quincunx Transiting Uranus There can be vague insecurity stimulated now, as we feel a little out of control faced with unpredictable events or feelings. There may be a conflict between a desire for familiarity and comfort, and the need for a change or excitement. Date & Time: Feb 7, 2018, at 11:35 pm Event: Tr-Tr Mon Pll Ven Description: Transiting Moon Parallel Transiting Venus Date & Time: Feb 7, 2018, at 3:26 am Event: Tr-Tr Mer SSq Chi Description: Transiting Mercury SemiSquare Transiting Chiron There is greater sensitivity to what is being said, choice of words, and syntax. Memories and dreams are strong right now. It is time to forgive and forget. Strong Signs, Elements, Modes BALANCE OF SIGNS SCORPIO STRONG Intense, magnetic, penetrating perception, power to confront. Can be destructive, vengeful, jealous, overly dramatic. AQUARIUS STRONG Humanitarian, innovative, group conscious, progressive, serving others. Can be rebellious, eccentric, aloof, emotionally superficial, overly extroverted. BALANCE OF ELEMENTS EARTH WEAK There can be a lack of desire, interest, or skills regarding practical affairs. We may not be very much in touch with reality. Difficulties concentrating, grounding ourselves. AIR STRONG We tend to favor rational, objective thought over emotions, impulses, and feelings at this time. We are more intellectual, fair-minded, and logical in our approach, Ideas flow easily and quickly, we are more communicative and guided by principles, and also somewhat dispassionate or impersonal. BALANCE OF MODES FIXED STRONG We are thinking about the long view, seeking out security and stability rather than change. We may be committed, focused, resistant to making changes, and stubborn. LUNAR PHASE: THIRD QUARTER Moon from 90 to 45 degrees behind the Sun. We have strong beliefs and are likely to put them into action. We have the wisdom to know when to act, but sometimes can be inflexible. The following aspects (major only) and positions are at noon (EST) on February 7th: Note that when an aspect is applying, it has not yet happened but is within orb – it’s pending. When an aspect is separating, it has already happened/perfected and is moving away from the aspect. Depending on the speed of the planet/body involved, the aspect will have perfected–or will perfect–in a matter of hours (often the case with the Moon), days, months, and possibly years in the case of the very slow-moving outer planets and bodies. Note that the Moon moves at a rate of approximately one degree every 2 hours so that if an aspect involving the Moon is applying and has an orb of 5 degrees, the aspect will perfect (be exact) in about 10 hours. If the Moon is separating from an aspect with an orb of 2 degrees, it has already formed said aspect approximately 4 hours ago (since the following are positions at noon today, then it would have occurred at about 8 AM today). **I suggest paying close attention to applying aspects. The energy of the aspect builds as it gets closer to exact. Once an aspect involving inner planets has happened, it’s over. Separating aspects are good to know for context, but in terms of energy that is with us today, applying aspects are most important. (This is the case for daily astrology influences involving inner planets, which pass quickly, and not natal astrology aspects, which are with us for a lifetime). THE MOON THE MOON IN SCORPIO You have an emotional intensity, and a strong need for drama. Under stress you will create drama and intensity in your life. You may have been born at a time when your mother experienced a crisis, or your birth may have been traumatic. Your mother may have been possessive and intense. 20TH DEGREE OF SCORPIO Part of Body: Ligaments of penis, Bartholin’s glands Sabian Symbol: A woman drawing two dark curtains aside. ASPECTS OF THE MOON SQUARE THE SUN Orb 0°31′ Separating There can be a conflict between our intentions and our emotions now. We can feel tense and unsatisfied until we take care of problems. We can be unsure about whether we want support or to do things independently. SQUARE VENUS Orb 6°31′ Applying There could be clashes between the desire for familiarity and the need for pleasure. Overindulgence or overspending possible. CONJUNCTION JUPITER Orb 2°30′ Applying We want to honor our inner code. We are generous with our energy, time, and money. Our feelings expand or are magnified, for better or for worse. It’s generally a good time to teach, learn, write, express ourselves, reach out, travel, publish, and promote. We may go over the top, however. TRINE NEPTUNE Orb 6°22′ Separating We are turning into the subtle aspects of life – art, nature, beauty, dreams, and spiritual realms. We more naturally accept situations and people as they are. Sensitivity, compassion. SEXTILE PLUTO Orb 0°38′ Applying This is a good time for feeling emotionally certain and motivated. We are more resourceful and insightful. The ability to keep the emotions on the inside today may be a strategy that turns out to be most successful. TRINE CHIRON Orb 6°42′ Applying There can be new or easy understanding of our feelings and impressions now. We have a greater understanding of, or compassion for, others’ problems. We are more emotionally present and involved. THE SUN THE SUN IN AQUARIUS You are unconventional, friendly, unpredictable and innovative. You like originality and may become rebellious. 19TH DEGREE OF AQUARIUS Part of Body: Spinal nervous system Sabian Symbol: A forest fire quenched. ASPECTS OF THE SUN CONJUNCTION MERCURY Orb 7°12′ Applying Thoughts and communications about ourselves and our goals. We are expressing ourselves confidently, directly, and clearly. CONJUNCTION VENUS Orb 7°02′ Separating We take pride in our ability to relate well with others or to smooth over differences now. Graciousness, diplomacy, charm, and some superficiality are themes. This is a good period for social affairs, pleasure, amusement, and romance, all things considered. SQUARE JUPITER Orb 3°01′ Applying There can be exaggerated good moods or a tendency to go over the top now. Clashes of ego can occur. CONJUNCTION THE SOUTH NODE Orb 3°56′ Separating In past lives you have not expressed yourself to your greatest potential. In this life you are being challenged to use these talents. You have been given a second chance. MERCURY MERCURY IN AQUARIUS You are brimming with original and unique ideas. You enjoy exchanging ideas with other people, particularly friends and groups of people. You are an inventive thinker, and may rebel against old and traditional ideas. 12TH DEGREE OF AQUARIUS Part of Body: Left cruciate ligaments Sabian Symbol: People on stairs graduated upwards. ASPECTS OF MERCURY CONJUNCTION THE SOUTH NODE Orb 3°16′ Applying Your communication skills are highly-developed, but you need to avoid your tendency for talk rather than action. You are being challenged to stop scattering your energy in all directions and put your communication skills to good use. VENUS VENUS IN AQUARIUS You enjoy unconventional and odd relationships, which give you the freedom to express your individuality. You enjoy talking more than touching. You enjoy being in a group of friends. 26TH DEGREE OF AQUARIUS Part of Body: Right fibula Sabian Symbol: A hydrometer. ASPECTS OF VENUS SQUARE JUPITER Orb 4°00′ Separating We are easily distracted, craving pleasure or leisure. We may be overdoing things, overselling ourselves, overbuying, or overstating our affections. There can be a lack of self-discipline now. However, we can also push ourselves to reach a little further than we usually do, particularly on a social level. SEXTILE URANUS Orb 0°47′ Separating You like relationships which offer you the opportunity to express your individuality. MARS MARS IN SAGITTARIUS You are an inspirational leader, and have a strong desire for exploration and adventure. You may be one-pointed in your desires. 8TH DEGREE OF SAGITTARIUS Part of Body: Left superior femoral artery Sabian Symbol: Rocks and things forming therein. ASPECTS OF MARS SQUARE NEPTUNE Orb 5°33′ Applying This is a time for resting, escaping, or taking a break as we reconsider our needs. We might temporarily lose focus or direction. JUPITER JUPITER IN SCORPIO You are on an intense search for the truth. You have strong desires for sexual union and joint enterprises. You could be a transformative teacher. 22ND DEGREE OF SCORPIO Part of Body: Ethmoid bone Sabian Symbol: Hunters starting out for ducks. ASPECTS OF JUPITER SEXTILE PLUTO Orb 1°52′ Separating You have a chance to achieve a great deal. Your knowledge is broad as you are interested in so many things. You may make a career in the occult or studying the deepest mysteries of life. TRINE CHIRON Orb 4°11′ Applying You have the gift of wisdom. You trust your own intuitive nature, and are able to teach others on the spiritual path. You are able to encompass other people’s personal philosophies without feeling threatened, so that others trust you with their spiritual problems. SATURN SATURN IN CAPRICORN Conservation, moderation, definition, structure, simplicity, and realism are themes now. We might also be striving for more authority in a particular area of our lives now. This is a time for making clear choices and decisions, for weeding out what isn’t working for us, and for letting go of lost causes, particularly related to our life path choices, careers, and long-term goals. (December 19, 2017, to March 21, 2020; and then July 1 to December 17, 2020). 6TH DEGREE OF CAPRICORN Part of Body: Right adductor muscle Sabian Symbol: A dark archway and ten logs at the bottom. URANUS URANUS IN ARIES The urge to start fresh, to break free from restrictive attitudes or circumstances, to totally redesign an area of our lives (or even our personalities), and to gain freedom through independence is strong during this cycle. (May 27, 2010, to August 13, 2010, then March 11th, 2011, to May 15, 2018, then November 6, 2018, to March 6, 2019). 26TH DEGREE OF ARIES Part of Body: Skull Sabian Symbol: A man possessed of more gifts than he can hold. ASPECTS OF URANUS SQUARE PLUTO Orb 5°05′ Applying A time for making sweeping changes and for adapting to changes in order to progress. This is a time for revising, altering, overhauling, and purging. We can experience tension, fear, and pressure, but also a sense of liberation from over-attachments and situations that have been holding us back from growth. NEPTUNE NEPTUNE IN PISCES A long-term influence in which fantasy, imagination, compassion, and spirituality are in stronger focus. (April 4, 2011, to August 4, 2011, then February 3, 2012, to March 30, 2025, then October 22, 2025, to January 26, 2026) 14TH DEGREE OF PISCES Part of Body: Right cutaneous veins Sabian Symbol: A lady in fox fur. PLUTO PLUTO IN CAPRICORN Tests of our boundaries; breaking down and rebuilding structures and rules. (From January 25, 2008, to June 14, 2008, then November 26, 2008, to March 23, 2023, then June 11, 2023, to January 20, 2024, then September 1, 2024, to November 19, 2024). 21ST DEGREE OF CAPRICORN Part of Body: Tendons of left knee Sabian Symbol: A relay race. Chiron, Major Asteroids, and Moon’s Nodes: in Sign and in Aspect CHIRON CHIRON IN PISCES Strong awareness of our own vulnerabilities and humanity stimulates compassion for others. (April 20 to July 20, 2010, then February 8, 2011, to April 17, 2018, then September 25, 2018, to February 18, 2019). 27TH DEGREE OF PISCES Part of Body: Phalanges of right foot Sabian Symbol: A harvest moon. VESTA IN SAGITTARIUS You have the ability to work relentlessly for a cause in which you believe. You need to make sure you do not exclude other people’s points of view. You have visions and enjoy the adventure of discovery in your work. 11TH DEGREE OF SAGITTARIUS Part of Body: Adductor muscles Sabian Symbol: The lamp of physical enlightenment at the left temple. PALLAS PALLAS IN TAURUS You have the ability to see the beauty in nature and the arts. You have much common sense and wisdom. You may become involved in either healing with your hands, or healing the earth through environmental movements. 7TH DEGREE OF TAURUS Part of Body: Vocal cords Sabian Symbol: A woman of samaria comes to draw water from the well. JUNO JUNO IN AQUARIUS You want the freedom to be your own person in your relationship. If this is not available you become rebellious and unreliable. You are unlikely to be comfortable in a traditional relationship. 23RD DEGREE OF AQUARIUS Part of Body: Left gastroscnemius muscle Sabian Symbol: A big bear sitting down and waving all its paws. CERES CERES IN LEO You feel cared for when other people play with you and praise you. You like to show others you care for them by encouraging their creative talents and sense of fun. 10TH DEGREE OF LEO Part of Body: Jugular vein Sabian Symbol: Early morning dew. THE NORTH NODE THE NORTH NODE IN LEO This a quest to develop your inner strength. You may find that you experience times of loneliness. These times are part of your lesson to forge your own creative life in order to give generously to the world. 15TH DEGREE OF LEO Part of Body: Right atrium Sabian Symbol: A street pageant. THE SOUTH NODE THE SOUTH NODE IN AQUARIUS This a quest to develop your inner strength. You may find that you experience times of loneliness. These times are part of your lesson to forge your own creative life in order to give generously to the world. 15TH DEGREE OF AQUARIUS Part of Body: Lymph vessels of right lower leg Sabian Symbol: Two lovebirds sitting on a fence. **Conjunctions to Select Fixed Stars on February 7, 2018** Aspects to Ves 10°Sg46 -16°27′ Cnj 10°Sg00 ANTARES *** Success which can be obsessive Aspects to Nod 14°Le55 +16°21′ Cnj 15°Le27 DUBHE Loving but forceful SHARE THIS: EmailFacebookTwitterTumblrGoogleReddit Filed Under: Daily Astrology, Today Tagged With: February 7 « Astrology of Today – Tuesday, February 6, 2018Astrology of Today – Thursday, February 8, 2018 » Leave a Reply Search this website … Search Cafe Astrology Cafe Astrology Home Cafe Astrology Free Reports Recent Astrology of Today – Thursday, February 8, 2018 Astrology of Today – Wednesday, February 7, 2018 Astrology of Today – Tuesday, February 6, 2018 Astrology of Today – Monday, February 5, 2018 Astrology of Today – Sunday, February 4, 2018 In this post Last Quarter Moon‌ The Moon is waning‌ Tags Jupiter Neptune transit Mars-Pluto transit Mars Chiron transit Mars Jupiter transit Mars Neptune transit Mars Pluto transit Mars Saturn transit Mars Uranus transit Mercury Chiron transit Mercury Jupiter transit Mercury Mars transit Mercury Neptune transit Mercury Pluto transit Mercury Saturn transit Mercury semi-square Venus Mercury square Mars Mercury square Neptune Mercury square Pluto Mercury square Uranus Mercury trine Pluto Mercury Uranus transit Mercury Venus transit Sun Chiron transit Sun conjunct Mercury Sun Jupiter transit Sun Mars transit Sun Mercury transit Sun Neptune transit Sun Pluto transit Sun Saturn transit Sun sextile Jupiter Sun sextile Saturn Sun square Neptune Sun Uranus transit Venus-Mars transit Venus Chiron transit Venus Jupiter transit Venus Mars transit Venus Neptune transit Venus Pluto transit Venus Saturn transit Venus sextile Uranus Venus square Saturn Venus square Uranus Venus Uranus transit Previous Subscribe via Email Enter your email address to receive notifications of new posts by email. Email Address Email Address Subscribe Current Planetary Positions 2/7/2018 11:31:01 AM Sun 18° Aquarius 58' 15" Moon 20° Scorpio 40' 23" Mercury 11° Aquarius 50' 23" Venus 26° Aquarius 02' 29" Mars 07° Sagittarius 30' 45" Jupiter 21° Scorpio 54' 26" Saturn 05° Capricorn 30' 30" Uranus 25° Aries 07' 44" Neptune 13° Pisces 00' 51" Pluto 20° Capricorn 02' 01" Chiron 26° Pisces 05' 22" TrueNode 14° Leo 55' 52" Subscribe to Blog via Email Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. Email Address Email Address Subscribe Categories Archives February 2018 M T W T F S S « Jan 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 Copyright © 2018 · Astrology Cafe by Cafe Astrology

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