#the fact that she died... and the way she died... unbelievable set of events

[linusbenjamin]

#girlboss

[celestiamour]

‧₊˚✧ ❛[ one victory after a loss ]❜

━━━ .°˖✧ requested by @lokotrona11 ˚₊ ⊹

ft. peter pevensie x gn! reader — prince caspian, the chronicles of narnia

╰₊✧ you return to aslan’s how after peter assumed that you died during the telmarine castle night raid┊1.7k words (prt one)

setting: the telmarine age (prince caspian) contains: hurt/comfort!! established relationship, mentions of death & battle, grieving, peter cries, mentions of anxiety from being king, cuddling

➤ author's note: peter pevensie uee eu ee ueue uuehh ｡°(°.◜ᯅ◝°)°｡ he currently controls my heartbeat eueh uueee uueuuue (థ ﹏ థ)

prehaps it’s a good thing that animals don’t talk anymore since convincing a telmarine horse to switch alliances and help you escape would have taken longer than the actual escape process. the thundering galloping sounds alerted some guards, but you quickly lost them in the thick woods by trusting your steed to guide you around the thicket as it was pitch black and all you could do was steer it in the direction of the camp. even if you were only locked up for six hours and put all of your focus on breaking out, the fresh air was invigorating compared to the musty dungeons and you couldn’t help but close your eyes to enjoy the ride as you arrived at your destination.

peter had long retreated into your shared tent away from the others with dull, weary, and bloodshot eyes from silently shedding tears for most of the night. he felt completely numb aside from the slow streams of saltwater dripping down his face and a stinging sensation every time he tried to blink them away, not even an ice-cold shower was enough to shake him from his thoughts. his siblings have tried to console him that you would come back to them and that he just needed to give you time, but the sun was starting to rise on the horizon and he could only fear for the worst. it would take a miracle for anyone to make it out alive when getting swarmed by enemies, even a skilled swordsman like yourself wouldn’t be able to survive when miraz said that nobody would be spared— not even his own men who unintentionally got in the way.

he couldn’t help but dream of some sort of way to rewrite the sequence of events that unfolded over the past twelve hours, knowing that there was no such magic that could turn back time so simply and that he had to deal with the fact that his plan didn’t play out half as well as he thought it would have. his mind was playing different scenarios of something he could have done to save you, anything that could have been done that would end with you being with him right now and to prevent the suffering of the narnians who also lost someone dear to them.

it was beginning to settle in that the last moment he spent with you was a kiss on the cheek and a comment to be careful, never considering that it would have been possible for one of you to die when invading the castle. he wished that he could at least have told you that he loved you, but instead, you were left to die alone at the hands of the telmarines without anyone to save you. once again, he found himself losing all hope and spiraling back to the mindset that it was all his fault, that he could no longer rule like he used to after abandoning his kingdom a thousand years ago (even if it was an accident). he wasn’t fit to be your lover, much less fit to lead the remaining few—

“they’re back! they’re back! they’re alive, peter!” his head snapped up at the cheerful voice of lucy that interrupted the haze of his grieving, shocked at the unbelievable sight of his youngest sister dragging his lover whom he previously assumed to be dead into his tent. she was always a light sleeper, bolting out of her slumber as soon as she heard the guards allowing you into the camp after confirming that you weren’t an enemy with your unfamiliar stallion. “i’ll give you guys some time alone,” she declared, allowing you to thank her and exiting as you approached your king.

he was such a wreck, a broken man who looked up at you from the edge of the bed as if he wasn’t sure if you were really there or just a hallucination his grief-stricken mind conjured up. you somewhat hoped for him to have more faith in you, but you knew that just the notion of you being gone would have him sick with worry. edmund already told you all about how they spent a year in a world you didn’t know of and how peter’s biggest regret was confessing his affection too late. it must have been such a roller coaster of emotions for him: beginning to court you, unintentionally leaving you behind, coming back excited to see you, believing that you had died thousands of years ago, finding you frozen in time like he never left, thinking you died in battle, and now finding out that you were alive… most of it happened within the span of a week, and he probably wasn’t sure how much of it he could take.

you approached him slowly like he was a wounded animal, reaching out to gently hold his face in your hands and wiping away the new tears resembling crystals forming with the pad of your thumbs. “oh, my dearest king… dry your eyes, you know there’s nothing i hate more than seeing you cry…”

hearing your voice made him crack, wrapping his arms around your torso and pulling you onto his lap to bury his face in your shoulder even though you were still clothed in metal. “thank aslan, you’re safe… i’m not sure what i would have done if you weren’t…” he didn’t care for the discomfort when your mere presence was a luxury for him, and neither did you when he was actively trembling in your arms. he always had a bad habit of repressing his feelings into a bottle until the cork popped off, refusing to show any weakness to his people and just breaking down in private while only showing this side to your or rarely his siblings. these spells have been steadily getting worse as of late, causing him to collapse under the pressure. seeing him like this almost made you selfishly wish that he never returned even if the remnants of narnia became ravaged by the telmarines and you never awoken from your eternal slumber, only if it meant for him to live out his youth carefree without the weight of the crown on his brow.

you parted with him momentarily to remove your armor once he seemed to calm down from the high of emotions, joking that he shouldn’t stare at you so intently while you were changing to ease the mood (even though he didn’t look away from you for even a second, you didn’t mind in the least since it’s not like it was anything he hadn’t seen already. it was almost as if he wanted to keep an eye on you in fear that you would disappear from his sight). it’s been a long night for both of you after all that’s transpired and it was high time you both got some sleep, even if it was for only an hour or two before his presence might be expected by the others. “come on now, you need to get some rest, and i desperately need a shower— i can’t believe you hugged me like that when i reek so badly.”

he finally managed to let a meek smile grace his handsome features, alleviating any remaining anxieties you might have had about him and left to take a quick bath in a nearby stream. there was barely anyone out there aside from a few stragglers getting water for morning routines, greeting you out of courtesy before leaving to give you some privacy. the stream poured over your body soothed your sore muscles and healed the minor cuts littering your skin, relaxing all tension and allowing you to think more clearly even though you were so exhausted you could pass out on the spot. truly, this was a magical land with magical properties flowing throughout every breeze of wind and drop of water.

lucy had told you earlier that while peter was stressing out over your disappearance, everyone else had full confidence that you would be perfectly alright with your set of skills. it’s not that he had no faith in you, he trusts in most who fight along his side and recognize all of their talents whether physical or intellectual, but he can’t help but feel apprehensive regarding you or his siblings. there might not be anything that could ever mitigate his uneasy attitude when it’s been melded into him from an early age, but it’s almost comforting to know that your partner is a good man who cares for his loved ones so much.

once you quickly dried off, changed, and then went back to the tent, you found the blonde still awake waiting for you, “i thought I told you to get some sleep.”

“i was waiting for you.” there was a little playfulness in his voice, like a child who was caught doing something they shouldn’t have knowing that there would be no punishment.

all you could do was sigh affectionately at peter pevensie being peter pevensie again and climb into the bed with him, pushing him down on his back and laying on your side to pull him closer to your chest, ruffling through his blonde locks and kissing his puffy eyes. “close your eyes and sleep, i’ll still be here when you open them again.”

it wasn’t often that he let himself be coddled by you, but he permitted it this time. enveloped in your warmth with the steady thumping of your heart brought him peace, knowing that you were alive, well, and reunited by side. the drowsiness hit him all at once, slipping away to a dreamless sleep in your arms after whispering a quick word of his love for you— a word of love that he was grateful to tell you once more and hoped for millions more to come.

(at some point, edmund came to check up on his brother and found the two of you sleeping soundly, not having the heart to wake either of you up and just letting you guys stay like that well into the morning. his sisters were very pleased to hear that and had a little giggle about the high king’s soft spot for you when you alone could comfort him when no one else could. the other narnians also had their spirits lifted upon seeing their leaders smile again. it was a new day under aslan’s watchful eyes.)

[kick-a-long]

I am not Jewish this is good faith feel free not to give me emotional labor etc but do you have advice on how to determine if a "Jewish" org is actually Jewish or if the source is good? I'm finding a lot of sources on jumblr that folks I follow say are reporting the actual news are Israeli and therefore predominantly in Hebrew, while big English speaking sources like nyt are consistently called antisemitic. Before I would have said oh nyt has some liberal lean but is fairly reliable. Now I am questioning everything I know in terms of reliability. Any advice on how to know if it will be biased or not if it's in English?

this is a great question because I'm still finding out the answer. The short, upsettingly accurate, answer is that it's fair to assume that non-israeli/non jewish coverage of i/p and antisemitism will be dogshit and blame jews for being targeted. I don't like that tho because that's how you end up in an echo chamber and racist and delulu on conspiracy stuff so... the adult long answer is it's important to cross reference.

it's hard because you can't take a news org at face value or as all good or all evil. An antisemitic source will seem like it is addressing antisemitism and getting better in a way that makes you think they will report accurate and fair news but then they turn around and report Gaza health ministry/UNRWA reports without even citing that it's from hamas and contradicting witnesses and geolocation data on video. (looking at you CNN you filthy animals.) It's like... it can get tin foil hat very quickly...

the truth is you have to look at what type of info is being reported and where it's coming from not just the people or org reporting it. NPR is a good example. they often have wildly antisemitic writers who frame jews as the problem behind everything from immigration, racism, all world conflict and bullshit like that, but they also have writers on staff who report pretty fairly. the easiest way to know the difference is to look for actual facts that can be cross-referenced. Look at what they say and fact check it with another source most likely to disagree and then weigh what the info is and where the papers identify that they got it.

for example: If a paper says "one million people exploded by new israel invisible bomb yesterday," ask some questions.

1: be skeptical and realistic: "well... that number and description seems totally unbelievable but let's check if israel did anything to anyone yesterday."

2: who is saying this?: look at who else is reporting the events: "that should be the front page story in every paper. oh a bunch of liberal media is reporting that?! wow, they aren't using a lot of specifics or saying where they got this info... that's pretty fucked..."

3: look for counter evidence: "ok, let's look at an israeli paper since they are most likely to give exonerating details. they say it's all made up? they said there was gun fire yesterday but no bombing in the area and they say there are no such things as invisible bombs. well now it's he said she said. maybe the western media means hard to track bombs and a few people died and they are sensationalizing?"

4: look at what the facts reported are and where is the info coming from: "well everyone agrees the reports are coming from the gaza health ministry but the israeli paper is saying that hamas made up the numbers and devices because hamas set off an explosion in a crowd accidentally. is there anyone not from israel saying this? oh a jewish paper in america has proof that hamas set the explosion and that it wasn't when and where the american media said it was???

5: give it a minute: "wow 24 hours later a witness came forward to say they saw a random dude blow up stuff and that the IDF wasn't involved?!"

My example seems crazy but there are times when it's important to keep checking because there has been some real bullshit slung and some fiction non-sense done.

Did I immediately believe that israel exploded every single hezbollah pager all at once? fuck no. That sounds like cartoon bullshit. turned out to be true.

Did/would israel starve 14 thousand babies in 48 hours? Why is every paper saying this is 100% absolutely true? how the fuck would you a. be able to come up with that number b. how would it be that high? and c. why are there no sources for it? turned out to be cartoonish bullshit. and extra evil because kids in a war zone shouldn't be lied about. don't cry wolf and then be surprised when no one believes the real wolf is here.

the most important part is to try and see all people as people. the human race is like 40/60 evil horrible fuckers to people doing their best.

Anyway, thanks for the question, (no emotional labor is too much for me. i am the emotional Sampson of ranting.) sorry i couldn't edit it down into a smaller list. <3

[8bitsupervillain]

Higurashi When They Cry Hou Ch. 8 Matsuribayashi pt. 41

I promise you I’ll have some commentary soon.

Keiichi Maebara continued

I wasn’t quite as surprised that Keiichi can see Hanyuu because I was operating under the faulty assumption that the rest of the gaming club would be able to see her because of the events of Minagoroshi. That since they all died at the hands of Takano and met in the afterlife they would somehow retain the knowledge that she exists. I sort of figured they wouldn’t exactly remember her, but that they would remember that she, as a person, exists. If that makes sense.

I have to say I was kind of surprised they were going with a vaguely antagonistic relationship between Hanyuu and Rika in these early scenes. It really should have been one of the things to tip me off that the chapter wasn’t going to play out the way I speculated it would.

Hanyuu and Rika are such confounding characters to write about. I’ve complained at length before about how I feel that Rika has been very inconsistently written across the last couple of chapters, and I regret to inform you that doesn’t really change across length of chapter eight. Hanyuu, meanwhile, is aggravating to talk about because of the fact that as she exists in the story she should be much more interesting of a character. Unfortunately I consider her to be one of the most mishandled characters to exist in this entire series. Strictly speaking of what she does in the story, not taking into account the things Ryukishi07 said about how she was originally going to be portrayed in this chapter. That… is its own particular set of issues I have with her portrayal.

An invitation to an end

“Every hour holds the promise of an Invitation to Love.”

This might sound like a stretch, but I kind of wonder if Takano was written to be sort of a parallel to Rika’s despair? It’s kind of a tenuous link at best, but in Minagoroshi Rika is shown to drink her wine when she’s at her lowest points. Coming to a head at wanting to just drink her sorrows away during the time when Satoko was being held prisoner by Teppei. So, I just was thinking that Takano wanting to drown her sorrows over people and their lack of belief in Hifumi’s work is meant to parallel that somewhat. I do think it’s somewhat telling that now, at this point Takano mentions that there really isn’t anything to the notion that Hinamizawa Syndrome, or similar parasites, are the root cause of humanity believing in the divine.

Cast your minds back long ago in to this playthrough, and remember if you will, the idea that Hifumi Takano had witnessed similar parasitism elsewhere in the world. More specifically, I don’t understand how the queen carrier gets passed from generation to generation. When whoever is the queen carrier reproduces does the parasite just go along with them to infect the infant Furude child who is now the head of the family? When Rika’s grandma was still alive, were there two queen parasites in both of the Furude women? How about when Rika was born, and up until her parents deaths? I admit that I don’t know very much about parasite based infestations, but this notion that the queen parasite is able to manipulate the various other parasites of the syndrome does sound a little bit unbelievable.

Is that why Takano really wanted to get her hands on Rika’s mom? To do some experimentation to see if the queen parasite was still in the host? Now that I think about it, does Irie even know anything about the idea that the syndrome is caused by the parasite? All that they’ve mentioned about his research seems to indicate that he is operating under the assumption that Hinamizawa Syndrome is just a neurological condition, made worse by mental stress and fatigue. I know that he’s mentioned they made strides in their research because they had Hifumi’s notes to work from, but do you think he ever really bought it was the work of parasites?

Say what you will about her experience vs his, Takano is apparently a more than capable scientist in that she was able to create an upgraded and more lethal version of the weaponized version of Hinamizawa Syndrome. Unless, of course, H173 has been retconned into H170, then in which case never mind.

Not the last time you’ll hear a character tell Takano she should kill herself.

And so the drunk loser and the mysterious woman begin chatting it up.

I don’t necessarily want this to color what you think I might think of this chapter as a whole, but I’ve become aware of the fact that I think three of the main characters of this series are done real dirty by this chapter.

Hanyuu, Rika, and Takano. I feel their characters get it the worst out of everyone in the cast. But, as I seem to be repeating a lot, we’re still a ways off, and we’ll get there when we get there.

[kxlinthesky]

EPISODE 6 PART 2 LIGHT NOVEL Chapter 5-10 English Translation

The next day:

“Come on, please?”

“No way.”

“....”

“You’re not getting out of this one, Owl.”

Owl groaned, long and loud and despairing. How many hundreds of times had they had this conversation already?

“C’mon, Owl, give it up. Ralph’s outside, and so’s Hannah – she looks furious, by the way. There’s no way you can escape.”

“No way.”

“So this is how you betray me, Nick... Ellie....”

“It’s not like we want to, y’know.”

“No way.”

Nick plopped down on one of the wooden chairs with a heaving sigh... and rested his chin on the edge of the bed in front of him. Ellie did the same next to him.

Owl was sleeping in that bed. Or, more accurately, someone was forcing him to sleep in the bed.

It had been a full day since the tumultuous events that had plagued the city.

Owl had been admitted to a medical facility that Tristan ran. He’d sworn up and down that he didn’t need it, of course, but every other person around him strongly disagreed, and he wasn’t going to win against their combined might. He’d looked so worn out and shabby after the dust settled, with his golden hair caked in dried blood, and it had taken every ounce of effort he had just to stand after he’d completely drained his magic reserves... so of course he’d been summarily bundled into the hospital. He’d actually been pretty docile at first, but as soon as he got word that neither he nor Ellie had been infected with the Black Rose Disease, he’d immediately demanded he be discharged so he could “look into ‘those guys’ as soon as possible.”

He’d only been hospitalized for four hours.

Naturally, his discharge request had been quite firmly denied.

When official channels didn’t work, Owl decided to take matters into his own hands. It didn’t matter how many times he tried to sneak out, though; Ralph and Hannah had set traps, and they kept catching him and marching him back to his room after every single escape attempt.

Which led to their current conversation.

“On top of that nasty blow to the head, you’re also suffering from some broken ribs and magic exhaustion. You really should be taking it easy.” Jack slipped a thermometer out of Owl’s armpit.  “And look, you’ve even got a bit of a fever, too. I prescribe complete bed rest. You really shouldn’t have been moving around so much with a head injury in the first place.”

He made a show of waving a pair of bloodied gloves around – the very gloves he’d lent to Owl, the white ones with the healing technique embroidered on them that Owl had used for first aid during the battle against Krinos. They weren’t really “white” anymore, though, not with the extensive bloodstains marring the fabric.

Owl’s face pulled into an apologetic grimace. “I’m sorry I got them so dirty,” he said. “I know they mean a lot to you.”

Jack’s eyebrows nearly shot off his face. “I’m not mad about that!” He lightly ground his knuckles into Owl’s bandaged forehead. “You can use them all you want, I know Eliza doesn’t mind! What I’m mad about is you not taking good care of yourself!”

“... I take care of –”

“You rushed your treatment as soon as you were brought in and then you went right back out there to help the people who were infected with the Black Rose Disease! And you were going around left and right shooting your disassembling bullets to treat everyone who was Demonized! Did you really think you could use that much alchemy in a single day without resting properly?! Of course you used up all your magic! If you had messed up at all you would have died!”

Owl’s eyes widened. He’d never seen kind, gentle Jack so angry before. The furious fire in his friend’s narrowed eyes looked almost foreign on his face, in fact, for just how much it clashed with the Jack he’d come to know. “Even you’re mad...” he mumbled.

“Of course I am! My friend was out being unbelievably reckless with his health! I’m furious!”

“... Sorry.”

“Yeah, you’d better apologize. A lot.” Jack glared for a moment, but then his shoulders slumped in a sigh. “But I know you probably had to be a little reckless, given everything.” He reached out and took Owl’s hand in a handshake. “On behalf of everyone you saved, thank you. Thanks to you, most of the people who caught the Disease were saved. They’re carriers now, of course, and they’ll need to get follow-up exams, but they’ll be able to get back to their normal daily lives soon.”

“You don’t need to thank me for that. Honestly, I don’t really remember much of what happened.”

“That’d be because of the head injury.”

“Besides, you and Tristan took care of the important stuff, right?”

A complicated expression flitted across Jack’s face. “Sir Tristan and his state alchemist friends, yes,” he replied. “They were also the ones to study why Miss Maud... no, sorry, Miss Matilda’s body remained after she died.”

“Wait, what? They did?”

“Yes... as it turns out, she’d been clutching a certain stone fragment in her hand when she passed. The power of the stone preserved her body, apparently.”

“A stone... I didn’t realize she was holding one.”

“It makes sense you didn’t, its power in and of itself was extremely weak. But it was a healing power, we think.”

“A healing power?”

“Or rather... maybe not a ‘power,’ per se, but a powerful wish stored inside. The stone had been stolen from Miss Matilda’s mother’s body, actually, so maybe she was drawing on her mother’s love?” A faintly bitter smile rose to Jack’s face. He was well aware how strange it sounded coming from a doctor like himself.

“How could you tell it was her mother’s?” Owl asked.

“She told us herself. Quote, ‘my father stole this stone from my mother,’ unquote.”

“What?”

Jack sighed. “Put a bunch of state alchemists in one room and you get to see some absurd power being thrown around. Sir Tristan used that stone as a base to reconstruct what we would call her soul. It was a stroke of luck that they found her own azoth in the ruins of the salon. She... wasn’t really resuscitated, though. It was more... he combined the last bits of magic in her body with the ‘soul’ of her mother in the stone she’d been carrying, or something like that?” He shrugged with a thoughtful hum. “Well, there’s no real precedent for what he did, so I don’t exactly know how to describe it.... It was so high-level, I can’t even begin to wrap my head around it.... But in any event, Miss Matilda’s magic was strong enough that he was able to restore her soul, though half of it is actually her mother’s soul sort of stitched together with hers.”

“So... what you’re saying is...?”

“She’s alive and well. She’s got no relatives, so once she’s all healed up we thought she might work here at this facility. It seems she has quite the gift of foresight.”

“No relatives? What about Duke Fitz?”

“You could say he incurred Sir Tristan’s wrath, I guess? From what I hear, his title was revoked. He’s not a duke anymore.”

“Ahh... I see....” Something in Owl uncoiled at that, all the tension he hadn’t realized he’d been carrying finally slipping away. His voice lowered to a relieved, almost trembling whisper. “I’m glad.... Thank you, Jack, really, thank you....”

Jack’s face did that complicated little dance again. “Like I said, it wasn’t me, it was all Sir Tristan. I couldn’t even give you the proper support you needed, and I won’t lie, that’s been weighing on me a fair bit.”

“That’s not true. You were working your hardest to help. I’m guessing Tristan was keeping your nose to the grindstone? Making all these unreasonable demands?”

“Well... things were busy?” Jack hedged. “But it was all a learning experience. I’ll study up so that next time I can help you properly.”

“I thought you were plenty help as it was. If anything, I feel like I should apologize for you having to look after both me and Tristan.”

“No, there’s no need for that. But if you’re feeling a little guilty, maybe you can at least promise that you won’t do anything rash from now on?”

Owl went rather tellingly silent.

“Otherwise, I might just suggest that Sir Tristan build a hospital right next door to your agency.”

“... Mmgh.”

“Well?”

“... If a case crops up, I’m going to pursue it. So....”

“So?”

“... I can’t make any promises.”

“You –” Jack blew out a sigh, then jabbed Owl in the shoulder. “Are the worst. Then at least no more escape attempts for the next week, got it? You can be discharged next week! No sooner! Understood?”

“Yeah, got it.”

“And if you try, I’ll have you tied to the bed until the week after that with Eliza’s special restraints.”

“... Yeah, heard you loud and clear.”

Jack nodded with a cheery smile after that final threat and finally left. Nick snickered as the doctor walked out. “Yeah, I really like him. It’s a good thing he’s your friend, Owl.”

Owl nodded. “He’s a good guy, right?”

“Oh, yeah, the best!” Nick flashed him a thumbs-up, Ellie copying him not a second later. “Which is why I completely agree with him about you resting. At least stay here until your injuries are all closed up and your ribs aren’t snapped like twigs anymore.”

“Don’t call people’s bones twigs. They’re just a little cracked.”

“Says the guy who can’t even hug Ellie.”

Owl twisted a little in his bed, expression darkening mutinously. “... I’m bored. Too much free time and nothing to do. And I can’t sit still with Tristan hovering over me.” Mostly because he could never tell when exactly his adoptive father was going to show up for a visit.

“Aww, but Papa Tristan’s so sweet!” Nick leaned back a little, completely relaxed. “And he’s the reason you’re staying here and getting treatment are free. Right, Ellie?”

Ellie nodded along. “Papa... gives me sweets.”

Owl jolted and leaned forward without thinking, suppressing a wince as the movement twinged his ribs. “‘Papa?’” he repeated incredulously. “Since when did you guys call him Papa? Do not tell me he won you over.”

“Who, me?” Nick pressed a hand to his chest in mock affront. “Come on, Owl, don’t be silly. He’s not gonna get me on his side just because he treated me to one measly, very delicious steak dinner.”

“Steak? You had steak? When?!”

“... Man, it was so good...” Nick mumbled.

“So tender and so yummy...” Ellie agreed.

The two giggled to themselves. Owl stared in horror. “He absolutely won you over!”

“Nuh-uh, no he didn’t.”

“Nuh-uh.”

“I don’t believe you! How do I know he didn’t turn you into his spies?”

“He didn’t, we swear.~”

“We swear.~”

A knock at the door interrupted the trio’s back and forth, followed by a head poking in – Ritz. “May I come in?” she inquired.

Owl turned to the newcomer. “Hey, Ritz,” he greeted.

“You feeling okay since you woke up?” checked Nick. “All your tests and stuff done?”

The two were treating her like normal. Ritz relaxed... but there was still a shadow of embarrassment lingering about her as she shuffled into the room, her head slightly bowed. Once she was at their sides, she bowed even lower. “I, er, wanted to... apologize, for all the trouble I caused.... I know that what I did can’t be fixed with a simple apology, of course, but still, please allow me to properly express just how truly sorry I am for what happened.”

Owl and Nick silently traded glances as she continued to spout apology after apology. When she finally paused for breath, they shrugged in unison. “What’re you talking about, Ritz?” Nick said.

“Huh?”

“You kind of always bring us trouble,” he pointed out matter-of-factly. “Why’s this time any different?”

Ritz opened her mouth to argue, but upon reflection closed it again. “... That... I suppose that’s true,” she admitted. In fact, it was altogether too common. “But this time was truly embarrassing. Because I was so immature and inexperienced... you all suffered so horribly....” Her eyes flicked up for a brief second to the bandages wrapped around Owl’s skull before flicking away again. “You were even hurt....”

Nick rolled his eyes. “No, really, why’re you saying this now? We knew from the start you were an untrained, incompetent cop.~~~”

A growl rumbled from Ritz’s chest. Normally she’d snap back with something like, “And just who are you calling incompetent?!” But today, she couldn’t muster up the energy for her usual retorts. She curled in on herself with a pained grimace, her feet tapping anxiously against the floor.

Yes, her feet. Attached to her completely normal human legs.

Ritz had reverted back to a human form, no trace of the Leviathan she’d been to be seen. That stark-white, mermaid-esque Demon she’d been almost seemed like a dream... but no, it had been real. She had become Leviathan. It was an indelible, inescapable fact.

“Don’t worry about me,” said Owl. “I’ll heal up soon enough. I’m more worried about you – you’re a carrier now of the Black Rose Disease, that has to be a big shock.” Mental and emotional scars wouldn’t heal as easily as his physical wounds and could open up again at the drop of a hat.

“It is a shock, but....” Ritz placed a hand over her heart and gave a single nod. “I’ve decided to see this as an opportunity. There are certain things that only a concerned party could understand when trying to relate to those who struggle under unfair oppression.”

“Ritz....”

“Besides, I can’t stay depressed forever. I was lucky to be highly compatible with the disease, but even so, there’s a chance the Demon will manifest again someday, and I require practice. If I pretend it never happened, everyone around me may be placed in danger again.” Ritz straightened up, eyes blazing. “I need to do everything in my power to make sure that doesn’t happen!”

Owl’s eyebrows shot up. “... You’re so strong,” he murmured. She’d been so flustered at first, but she’d bounced back remarkably fast. Was it the unshaking, unwavering belief in her core that refused to bend or break? Or....

“That’s a police officer for you!” cheered Nick, completely oblivious to Owl’s contemplation.

Ritz pouted. “Even though I’m ‘incompetent’ and ‘untrained,’” she grumbled.

Nick side-eyed her, his eyes narrowed like a cat’s. “Well, I mean, yeah? But you’re the most honest, hardworking cop of them all. You’re the coolest.” He sounded like he was just stating another fact of life. The sky was blue, the grass was green, Ritz was amazing...

... and her face instantly flamed red. “I-I know – I know that I’m ‘cool!’” she hissed as she turned away to hide her blush.

Nick twisted to try and peer at her face with a leer. “Oh-ho, what’s this? Are you feeling shy? Are you all red?”

“I – I am not shy! You’re just mean!!”

“Aww~~, and here I was thinking I distinctly remembered you calling me ‘clever!’”

“I never said that!”

Ritz continued to twist away from Nick’s prying eyes, even as he continued to twist to try and get a better look. Owl watched the two with the distinct sense that he was intruding on something again, despite the fact that this was his hospital room. Nick noticed his partner being quiet and glanced over. “What’s with that grin on your face, Owl? You’re thinking something weird again, aren’t you?”

“No, just reflecting. Looks like I made the right call.”

“What d’you mean?”

“Just, you’ve always called Ritz a police officer.”

“I mean... yeah? ‘Cause she is. ‘Course I did.”

“Right. Of course you did.”

To Nick, it was a given, and that warmed Ritz’s heart more than anything else. Nick didn’t see her as a “woman,” a “li’l miss,” or a “girly” – she was a “police officer,” and that was that. At some point his simple acceptance of who she was had become something that always brought her joy, and he’d become someone she could trust wholeheartedly.

It was for that exact reason that she’d reacted so strongly to his voice back then.

With a sarcastic little chuckle, Owl muttered, “Well, it looked like the chocolate cake also had a hand in bringing you back to your senses.”

As if in response, Nick sniffed the air. “Hey, d’you smell something sweet?”

“Sweet?”

“Yeah, sweet and... savory? Hm? Where’s it coming from?” Nick prowled the room like a bloodhound, his nose twitching in the air as his meandering path slowly took him toward the door.

Owl’s eyes tracked him in turn. “Oi, Nick?”

Ritz sniffed the air as well. “You’re right...” she murmured. “Something does smell sweet.”

“Me, too...” added Ellie.

What were they all picking up? Owl’s head rose, nostrils twitching –

Knock knock. Jack poked his head in. “Hey, Owl, you’ve got a package,” he announced, holding out the sizable basket in his arms. “Someone left if at the entrance, addressed to ‘the people of the Owl Detective Agency.’”

“Really?” Nick bounced on the balls of his feet. “What is it? Who’s it from?”

“I’m not sure... the card only says ‘B.’”

“‘B’...?” Nick accepted the basket from Jack and sniffed it. His face lit up. “The smell’s coming from this!~” he crowed and yanked the top open.

“Oi, be gentle,” Owl admonished, brows furrowed a touch anxiously.

As Nick opened the basket, a delectable scent filled the room. Nick peeked inside, as did Ritz and Ellie. “Ah!” he gasped.

“Chocolate cake!” cried Ritz.

“And a meat pie, too!~~”

“Freshly made...!”

They stared starry-eyed at the glossy cake and crisp meat pie stacked inside the basket. All three of them started hopping up and down in their excitement.

“It looks so yummy....”

“Yes! Awesome! Let’s all dig in!~~”

“Hold on, you two, let’s not be hasty. This is a gift for Owl, so we can’t just grab whatever we like ourselves,” reasoned Ritz.

“Ritz, you’re drooling.”

“I – I am not!”

Owl watched their lively discussion from his bed with raised eyebrows. “Wait, are you guys really going to eat something from someone who we don’t know sent it?”

“But we do know!” Nick shot back. “This has to be from Byron! We’d know his cakes anywhere!”

“He’s absolutely right! These are Byron’s cakes without a doubt!”

“It has to be.” They were completely confident that they were right.

“... ‘B,’ huh.” Owl took the card from Jack and squinted at the “B” scribbled on the little square. The tenseness in his shoulders eased a little. It was, admittedly, vexing that Byron would send a care package without actually showing his face, but Owl simply sunk back into bed told the others, “One slice each,” before turning his head to stare out the window.

The sky outside was still the color of lead.

“It’s still not back,” he muttered to himself. “... Can it come back?”

As memories from the previous day flooded his mind, his eyes slipped shut. Two figures flashed through his mind’s eye – one vampire, and one....

“What were they doing...? What are they hiding?”

After they’d defeated Krinos, they’d both left again without explaining anything. He still had no idea what they were up to or why.

“Am I not strong enough to help them...?” A strange sense of alienation, of powerlessness, swept over Owl. “Will they ever tell us what they’re up to?”

And then there was what that young man had shouted at the light back then. He’d been barely conscious, so he hadn’t gotten a good look at the guy, but he did hear what he’d muttered as Byron flew off into the sky:

“I feel so awful for you... Byron.”

Owl slowly opened his eyes again to the ever-overcast sky and a plate in front of him bearing a meat pie and a slice of the cake. “Let’s eat together, Owl,” said Ellie.

“Yeah, thanks.” Owl took the plate.

“There’s seven slices each of the pie and the cake,” she told him. “Can we give some to Doctor Jack and Ralph and Hannah?”

“Of course.” Owl reached for his food, ready to take a bite... but then he paused with a blink. “Wait. You said seven slices?”

“Hm?”

“There’s seven slices each? Of the cake and the pie?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“....”

“What is it?”

“There’s not enough.”

“Huh?”

Owl traced a circle in the air with his finger, then sliced up, down, and diagonally both ways. “Usually when you’re cutting a whole cake, you’d make four cuts to make eight pieces, right?”

“Oh... you’re right. They were both missing one....” Ellie peered into the basket. “Where do you think it went?”

It was easy to cut a cake into eight pieces. It was much harder to cut one into only seven. That meant either one slice had been removed from the start... or....

Owl stared down at the pie and cake on his plate, then glanced over to Nick. His partner noticed his gaze and turned, his cheeks bulging already. “What?” he said thickly, head tilted.

The detective’s mouth twisted in a pensive frown. “... Are you cheating on me, Nick?” he asked.

“Cheating?~~” Nick stared at Owl. What was he talking about? Yeah, he’d accused Owl of cheating before, but never in a million years did he expect him to flip the script like that.

“I was wondering... if maybe you’d made some other friends besides me,” the detective muttered.

“Other friends? You mean like Brat?”

“No, I mean the person who gave you those weird things.”

“What weird things?”

“Those cards you had?” Owl traced a rectangle in midair and leaned toward Nick. “With the alchemy infused in them?”

“Ehh?~~” Nick’s shoulders slumped almost comically, very obviously not meeting Owl’s eyes. “Those were... what were they, huh?~~”

“Uh-huh?”

“....”

Owl stared at him doubtfully. “Just so we’re clear, I’m grilling you about that later,” he told his partner, then took a big bite of pie. The savory batter crunched and squished as delicious, juicy meat flooded his mouth. A groan unconsciously bubbled out of his throat at the superb, nostalgic flavor.

He ate silently, bite by bite, until in the blink of an eye the slice of pie had vanished down his gullet.

And as he wiped the last traces of sauce from his lips with his finger, a bubbly voice gasped and said:

“Ah, Louis! Looks like you’ve got something good there!~~”

“Pipe down while we’re in the labs, Tino.”

“What’cha got? And where’s mine?~~”

“There’s none for you. I only had the one slice of each.”

In a lab at the Royal College, a young man eating his lunch in a corner of the room shoved a young lady away as she came running at him and swept away the pie crumbs scattered across his textbook. The slice of cake by his elbow, however, remained untouched.

“What about the cake?” she asked.

“No, that’s mine.”

“Cheapskaaate!~ C’mon, just one bite....”

“Not a chance.” And to keep the greedy girl from claiming his prize, the young man stuffed the whole slice of cake into his mouth in one go. Once he swallowed, he told her, “Can’t go to battle on an empty stomach, right?”

“What’re you talking about? You gonna go fight someone, Louis?”

“... Not really a fight, but....”

He licked his lips and stood up, shutting his textbook as he went.

“I’m going to go make a declaration of war, I guess.”

He gathered his things and left the lab. Tino stuck her tongue out at his retreating back. “What a weirdo!”

END

original written by Nagaya Kawaji here

[misireads]

Home Before Dark by Riley Sager

[audiobook, listened in finnish]

a 30-year-old woman's father dies and leaves her a house that their family used to live in when she was five years old. the woman's entire life has been defined by this house and the highly popular "based on a true story" horror book that her father wrote about their life in it, none of which she believes to be actually true. she returns to the house in order to renovate and sell it but also to find out the truth of what happened in this supposedly haunted house and why her family abruptly left it after only 21 days of living there. this also leads her to the path of solving the unsolved disappearance of a then-teenager who occasionally babysat her during those 21 days and vanished on the same day as they fled the house.

➕ interestingly written, there's a changing PoV between the woman (maggie) and the book written by his father, and the two seamlessly fill in for one another, explaining and introducing events and details about the house that the other can then continue expanding on. i thought this worked really well.

➕ haunted houses with creepy past(a)s are just my jam in general

➕ a thoughtful and enjoyable mystery overall. i was totally blindsided by the ending, i was really convinced about the solution from about the half-way point onwards like "it's soooo obvious that this character x did thing y, am i even gonna bother listening to the end?? i'm so gonna call this predictable" aaaand of course my theory was not only wrong but debunked by the story itself as if it was taking a piss on my shit deductive powers

➖ although the setting is good per se, it was also utterly not believable. well, i guess this story could be taking place in a parallel universe where horror is a very undeveloped genre, but a lot of the premise hinges on this book by the father having been suuuch a fucking success that literally everyone has read it, and this is rendered so thoroughly unbelievable by the father's PoV being the book in question and it's. not good. it's not even imaginative or very interesting. maggie's PoV does take a jab at this early on as if to cover this undeniable flaw by her saying that she thinks the book is like totally bad and nothing special. but this kept bothering me throughout, especially since there are parts of the father's book that are literally hyped beforehand, like maggie tells which ones are the most popular and exciting parts of it. and then those parts happen. and they're anticlimatic shit? i was left so disappointed like THAT'S IT? this aspect didn't deliver at all. even the ghosts manage to be boring and uninteresting, the only thing that was somewhat original was a ghost communicating by ringing service bells in the house but even that dragged on a bit much IMO, if this were an actual book nobody would fucking care to read about this shit like there's just no way this kinda garbage would be a bestseller, the more i think about it the less convincing this entire premise is

➖ maggie overall is just unrelatable, unlikable, and kind of.. stupid? as fuck? another thing that the entire premise hinges on is her not believing that any of what her father wrote is true because "she doesn't remember it" but she never ever addresses what she DOES remember about her life from being a five year old, then. like there's no counter for her absolute claims of this not being true because she doesn't remember. so she just has no memory of her childhood at all? but doesn't even once in the narration wonder that perhaps it's because of repressed memories because something bad happened to her?? the fact that she doesn't provide any alternatives to what happened instead of what her father claims happened, idk it annoyed me so much. there are other parts in the story too where she's just 100%sure of things for no real reason, it's like she can't think for herself and question things at all because she just jumps to conclusions at every given opportunity and rejects alternatives. this makes her sound fucking r-slur. both of these minus points overall give this story kind of an unfinished feeling to me. there's a lot of good in it but also some enormous holes in credibility.

➖ the finnish audiobook. jesus christ. maggie is ok but the father's reader is narrating this like he's reading a children's book that he's a bit bored of. while talking about gruesome murder and horrible things that happened to her 5yo daughter. it's. an. abomination. it eats away at the credibility even more and probably also affected the way i felt about the father's book bc it sounds soooo fuckiiing stupiiiiiiddd when read by this dude. really, usually even if i don't really like a narrator, i get used to the voice after several hours. but not this one. one of the worst i've ever listened to

⭐ score: 3+ -- still solid and enjoyable. this would have easily been a four if these minus points listed here weren't so blaring. but i liked being blinsided by the end a lot which made up for it some LMAO ah clearly i haven't read enough murder mystery novels yet if this is my reaction to a riley sager

[into-daylight-hope]

Qui-Gon Jinn: Certified Hypocrite, Fascinating Failure, Mass of Contradictions

For starters, I am just going to let direct quotes from the man speak for itself.

Some excerpts from Master & Apprentice

Wise words.

Wait a minute...

😯😯 What the hell is happening here? All quotes are from the same man in one book.

Qui-Gon Jinn doesn't have an ounce of self-awareness and it is so hilariously terrible.

What is even better (or worse), this is perfectly in line with The Phantom Menace characterization .

I mean,

Remember when he said all this than spent the rest of the movie obsessing over prophecies, the chosen one and literally the future?

"He still has so much to learn of the living force." Qui-Gon Jinn about Obi-Wan in the council scene

After that scene

"The boy is dangerous. They all sense it why can't you?" Obi-Wan Kenobi about Anakin Skywalker to Qui-Gon Jinn

You see Obi-Wan, Master Jinn here has completely lost any sense of "here and now" between his crusade against darkness and divine mission to save the Galaxy.

This in turn, unsurprisingly blinds him to the fact Anakin is not suitable to become a Jedi. Or at least not ready to directly move on to becoming a padawan.

Anakin himself would suffer in a road that is not meant for him. But he is not planning for Anakin the child. He is thinking about The Glorious Chose One.

He is the chosen one. You all must, see it.

And yet from Qui-Gon's perspective it is Obi-Wan who doesn't understand the Living Force.

I have to say if he is truly a student of the living force as many fans claim he has been failing the class for at least 8 years.

Let's move on to another set of entertaining and horrifyingly oblivious quotes from M&A.

If you look upward you can observe Mr. Here and Now in his natural habitat.

He really acts like future is set in stone than thinks he is the right person to talk about about concentrating in the moment. Unbelievable.

Let's look at this dialogue again. In contrast with the excerpt from above.

He is all about the future when it suits him. But when Obi-Wan makes a remark on it he obviously should just focus on the moment. This is actually the third time in this post where he contradicts himself while specifically chastising or criticizing Obi-Wan for something Qui-Gon actually does.

Now I don't think Qui-Gon acts with malice. But it is important to point out his obliviousness has become a way of ensuring he is never in the wrong.

He suffers from an immense hubris. And a man obsessed with prophecies and chosen ones definitely has some kind of savior complex.

But notably Jinn doesn't actually want to put any effort into enacting real change with his limited yet existent capabilities.

He turns down a council seat in M&A because he thinks it would hold him down. From what? Dear God, the reason they offered him a seat was for different opinions. Qui-Gon can complain all he wants but one time he actually had a chance to make his opinions a reality he freaking bailed.

Why? He doesn't want to face his own limits. He can't bare to try and fail. It is much easier to sustain a superiority complex when you are complaining from the sidewalk.

So he fixates all this belief onto prophecies, visions that will magically cure the Galaxy. And of course his place to help fulfill them. To the point where it is the one thing that keeps him standing.

He has binded meaning of his life and belief for goodness dangerously close to his supposed importance in the Galaxy. (You can feel the influences of his former master)

His absolute refusal to engage with reality turns him into mass of contradictions. Cause he doesn't know what he will find or become if he is mistaken in his belief of himself.

He can't face reinvention on the event of defeat.

But this situation was different. It had to be, because the only thing Qui-Gon knew to be absolutely true was that his vision was real.

Oh by the way, it turned out he misunderstood the vision. But when does being wrong ever stopped Qui-Gon Jinn?

No words.

Only Qui-Gon could have come near declaring himself a prophet after making a mistake. Maybe stop and reflect man? Just stop and think about your actions.

Obi-Wan Kenobi: I have a bad feeling about this.

Qui-Gon Jinn: I don't sense anything.

Of course you don't.

Honestly he doesn't have much to speak for in the cosmic force department either.

(There is the whole force ghost thing I guess. But I have no idea if that is more connected with living or cosmic force. It seems to be more about spiritual enlightenment. Which is ridiculous when you consider Yoda had go through so many trials, face his darkside, learn to truly let go just for Force priestesses to deem him worthy enough to study immortality. Yes Qui-Gon never became a force ghost but he had started his training before he died. And much of Yoda's tests on TCW was about self-awareness. It is not just about being a good person. How did Force Priestesses approve Qui-Gon "I was meant to misinterpret this vision." Jinn? I would understand if he became wiser after death and faced his flaws and all but he never was on that level before he died. You might say even Anakin became a force ghost. But I would remind you, Anakin in the end broke out of denial, acknowledged the wrong of his ways and took that leap to the light side. Self-awareness seems such an important key to becoming a force ghost. Right there with selflessness. Personally it doesn't quite feel right for a character whose biggest flaws are their lack of introspection and hubris which we never see him rise above to be the one that discovers immortality again. It feels more like a rushed plot point to explain how we get from A to B.)

This post got out of control 😂. I honestly just wanted to point out lack of communication might be one of the reasons Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon have trouble understanding each other but it is sometimes even harder to understand Qui-Gon when he actually says something. Cause ration is not what drives him.

Qui-Gon is such a complex character. He is undeniably good especially compared to other SW characters. Yet for all fandom's deifying he might be the most flawed Jedi we see on the franchise. (The ones that fell to the dark side not included.)

It is a shame wider fandom completely write off his flaws to the degree I can't even recognize the character when they talk about Jinn. Cause that Qui-Gon is so hard to feel empathy for.

When people constantly make statements like "He is The Wisest sw character." his hypocrisy stops being amusing. It doesn't end on screen or page instead often used to bash other characters.

An unbelievable analysis from Wookiepedia:

When Jinn saved the Gungan exile Jar Jar Binks, who in turn swore a life-debt to him, his compassionate nature was such that Jinn took the hapless Gungan under his wing, much to Kenobi's dismay. His empathy toward all life forms, including the most pitiful and unfortunate, was Jinn's greatest strength. Additionally, he remained understanding and patient with Queen Padmé Amidala. During the short time they knew each other, he never asked for her to do more than she was willing to.

You know out of the two, Qui-Gon was the one who insulted Jar Jar to his face. And he didn't took Jar Jar under his wing. They forced him to take them to a city where Jar Jar could have been punished for entering. Now it was the pragmatic thing to do. For all three's survival not for their own gain. Understandable. But compassion is just pushing it.

Also he never asked Padme to do more than she was willing to do?

Padmé : Are you sure about this? Trusting our fate to a boy we hardly know? The Queen will not approve.

Qui-Gon Jinn : The Queen does not need to know.

Padmé : Well, I don't approve.

And he is aware she is the queen, herself. Padme was nearly tearing out her because of this man in TPM.

What is weird, Jinn in his bewildering hypocrisy probably thinks he is being admirably compassionate with Jar Jar, highly understanding and patient with Padme. We clearly see he is not.

Out of universe he has been a force ghost for decades now but fandom is nowhere near acknowledging his flaws than he is.

And honestly SW doesn't have that many major morally complex characters. People like Maul, Palpatine, Anakin,Ventress don't think they are serving a higher purpose or oblivious to the evils they commit.

Emotionally complicated, yes. Going through moral dilemmas, no.

Three major characters come to mind who make huge mistakes, condone or commit atrocities while thinking they are in the right/with good intentions/for a greater cause. With varying degrees of culpability.

Qui-Gon. Padme. Dooku.

In that order.

Let these characters be interesting instead of demonizing nearly inhumanly selfless Jedi characters. (They make mistakes too but funnily enough they are still way better beings than most people on our planet.)

By the way I found the epitaph "Fascinating Failure" from the article here. Especially the last paragraphs make some interesting points. ⬇️

👀

This post might seem harsh but that is expected since it focuses on Qui-Gon's flaws.

"People are more than their worst act,” Quote from Qui-Gon Jinn in Master & Apprentice

[yanderes-galore]

Yandere Halloween Prompts Day: 24

Word/Theme: Rebirth

Yandere! Phoenix! Aesop Carl (Fenix)

A/N: I finished the event ^^ Although I will be differing from it a bit. It feels a little rushed but the event confused me a little.

Pairing: Romantic

Possible Trigger Warnings: Female Darling, Yandere behavior despite it not feeling like it, Kidnapping

The immortal bird, a servant for the God of Death. A being that took the form of a Phoenix, something that came back anew after it died. A fitting servant for Samhain.

Despite Fenix knowing his role as spy for Samhain, he did enjoy his childhood. Snuck in as a child with a younger Saintess, he grew up with you. The young Phoenix child thinking of you as the family he never truly had.

You were inseparable. Despite Fenix usually being quiet, you gave him company. He was always a great listener to you and wished he would never have to part from you.

You made him deviate from his original plan without even knowing it. Fenix knew sometime in the future he'd have to destroy this town, but thinking of what would happen to you stopped him slightly.

Then, you left the village for three years. Fenix became...worried, vicious at some points even. Demons were outside this village. What if he never saw you again.

It sent the Phoenix into a panic. His most precious human could be gone for good and the town wouldn't let him leave. That also went against Samhain's orders....

"It's too dangerous!" The church calls.

"But you people let her go!?" Fenix counters.

It was unbelievable. It only added more fuel to the Phoenix's fire, making him reconsider Samhain's plan. Maybe that's what Samhain wished for.

Maybe this was all set up.

Then, Moonblessed came bearing news.

"Did you hear she's coming back?" Moonblessed hums towards Fenix. Fenix stops what he was doing and looks towards his companion.

"Do you mean who I think you mean?" He's eager, it's been three years. Three years of him missing you. Now, close to the time of the festival, he could see you again.

But why now?

Why did you have to come back when the ritual was in full swing?

He felt as if he was betraying you. That him having to reveal his identity as the actual immortal bird would cause problems between you.

But, he decided he would go against Samhain's wishes for the village.

For you.

"I'll sacrifice everything for her...."

No one would listen to the plan he had come up with, another attempt at tricking Samhain failed.

There was nothing left to lose when the storm intensified. If only the church listened to him.

"Fenix!" You call, fear gripping at you tightly. He could see it in your eyes. When you saw the blue fire around him and the blackish blue wings on his back, he knew what you were thinking.

That he was some sort of demon sent by Samhain to kill the village and reverse the seal.

While he may truly be a monster in disguise, he wished to tell you that he'd never hurt you. That these blue flames burn for you. That he'd protect the village if it was for you.

"Please, just trust me on this-"

The fight against Samhain was long. In the end it requires Fenix's life to seal Samhain.

You mourn, trying to find some other way, but Fenix says for you not to cry.

"Do not worry, I will see you again." The dark phoenix promises, hand touching your cheek.

"Fenix...?" You ask, noticing the intense emotions in his sapphire eyes.

"Wait for me." He huffs, holding you close.

After the ritual was complete you didn't fully understand. What did Fenix mean?

Months passed and you kept your duties up around the village. Keeping demons out and away while trying to recover after hearing both of your friends betrayed you.

The night is quiet in your home. You lay in bed managing to fall asleep. You're feel light in your sleep, the sensation of flying.

You think you're dreaming until you try to pull your blanket towards you. It isn't there... in fact you open your eyes to see Fenix staring right at you. You don't know where you are, you're terrified.

"I told you I'd see you again." Fenix chimes, kissing your forehead. You push him away.

"Right...Immortal bird- You were reborn...."

"That is correct."

"Where am I?"

"Somewhere safer. The church would have a fit if they saw me, a traitor, back."

"You didn't have to take me away, Phoenix. I'm safe in the village."

"I can't bear leave you alone with the church. I'll protect you. You've seen I'm capable."

"This isn't right, Phoenix!"

The immortal bird frowns, nodding before leaning closer.

"This world isn't right. Who's to say what I'm doing is wrong?"

[savvythepirate]

Across The Universe

Pairing: Hector Barbossa x reader

Warnings: None

Requested by: @personlovingamime

The Request:

The whole idea is that Karina is not the only child of Barbossa, but her younger / older (not particularly important) sister (possibly from another woman, supposedly half-breeds) died as a child in infancy, but her soul was transferred to the modern world. In the fifth part, Barbossa turned to Chance and she said that his treasures would return to him. So, if she used magic and a girl / girl from the modern world got to them. During a deal with Salazar, under the upper deck, the ghosts find a girl who does not understand what is happening. they take her with them and events continue according and events continue according to the canon of the film, while Barbossa tries to find out who she is. Relationships are not set from the very beginning, because according to the terms of that time, the girl does not know how to do anything. Only later, when it turns out that Karina is his daughter, and therefore a girl too, will the true relationship be revealed. But the relationship never works out for the same reason. "Stupid" with this word you can describe a hit. But after all the adventures (Barbossa survived, sincerely believe that there was another way to defeat Salazar), when the girl already wants to find a way to return home so as not to annoy her father, because she sincerely suffers from the fact that her own father does not need her relationship to improve. The team, unlike the captain, took a liking to the hitman (Henry and Karina are neutral), and asked her to cheer them up. The popadanka sings and it turns out that the girl is very talented in languages ​​and music, plays the violin, piano and guitar, and also sings like a serena. And on all this ground, relations are improving and the family is reunited. (Hugs are possible) I know that this is complete and impossible nonsense, but I just got fired up with this thought. (If necessary, I can send a link to the song, translation is not needed))

***

It wasn’t until later into the evening did you find out that you supposedly belong into a different world, a much different one.

A world that’s only possible to live in only in dreams, your imagination. You had found out that from folding a pile of clean clothes, in which one pair of jeans had revealed a photo you don’t remember of ever owning. The photo slipped out of the pocket as you began folding them. Not only was it overwhelming, it was to the point of calling it unbelievable as you studied the photo you now held. In the photo, it shows you in it next to some girl and man who you assumed to be your own father.

Flipping over the photograph, there was a short note that was claiming to be a message that was meant for you. On the back of it, it revealed who these strange people were to you, when you should only know about your own family, whom seemed to be in a whole other world, your world. Not the modern day world you seemed to be trapped in. You wanted to start your own little investigation in this, to find out who your family were and who you really are. The note continues, going on to explain that you have a father who was a pirate and once you’ve come to learn that this letter was authorized by an unfamiliar name, Karina, the name doesn’t ring a bell. As you dig deeper into the puzzle, you discover a hidden journal lying on an empty shelf. The journal wasn’t yours, and you don’t recall on who may belong as you reach up to grab it. Of course you knew that reading a personal journal that doesn’t belong to you was the wrong way to go, but you were much too curious by this point that you brushed the thought away.

The journal was old, as it looked to have come from far back in the day. It was very delicate and so you were extra cautious as you handled it, opened it. Before you could really open it, you were shocked to find your name engraved on the front cover of the leather journal. It had also brought you an unsettling feeling, it was like something didn’t feel right, and you may not want to know or understand what that could be, but you wanted to find out as you continued on flipping through the pages. The rusty pages didn’t have the dates jotted down, but it had names you weren’t familiar with. It was a journal of what your life was like in a whole other universe and it seemed almost rather frightening. As you continue to read on, you discover the name of your father, Hector Barbossa, and your apparent half sister. Your hand writing stopped short and you noticed a change in it, before you realize it’s a match to the letter you discovered earlier.

Assuming this was a match to Karina’s writing, you read on, browsing through it before learning something a little shocking. The journal entry informed that you were born into that very world by a different woman. The next thing you know, you find out that in your previous life, you died in child infancy before a promise was made both to you and your father that one day, your treasures will be returned one day. The entry ended off with a final vidal of information that tells you you’d have to be a fool if you really believed all of this was real. That information didn’t seem to make any sense to you at all, but what happens next, you will be surprised when see that the fact is, this was all the truth, and it wasn’t just a dream you’d wake up from. Your soul had been transferred into a whole new world, the one that you live in now. The truth about everything you’ve just learned was about to reveal on you brightly.

It was late into the night when you decided it was time to get some rest, shutting your journal and set it down on the nightstand next to you. You don’t remember falling asleep, you just knew that as you wake up, you wake up in a world you had not have fallen asleep in. What helped you to snap out of the fuzziness in your mind and sight was the sound of ocean waves as it hit and rocked the ship violently. You were beginning to get a good whiff of the sea water before you hear what sounded like inaudible arguing voices. The storm raged on, having you holding onto whatever you can grab to hoist yourself up, hoping to prevent falling over into the sea yourself. That would be the last thing you needed, as for the voices you heard, the storm was making it impossible for you to decide which direction they were coming from, but it didn’t take you long to realize you had woken up on the deck of the ship, as you’re feeling absolutely lost and don’t know what’s going on.

“Are you alright, miss?” A voice asks, having you lose your train of thought.

“Can you tell me where I am and how I got here? I don’t know where I am or how I got here myself.”

“What’s your name?”

“(Y/n) Barbossa.” You respond.

As you get a better look at who was assisting you, you instantly take notice in his ghostly image, and it was a little frightening but he seemed friendly nonetheless.

“Come with me, I know where you need to be.”

You hesitated for moment before deciding on continuing to trust him to help you get to where you want to go or to where you’re supposed to be. The ghostly gentleman looked around, as if in the search of someone important, and he was as he had to call out asking where he could find who he was looking for.

“Have you seen Barbossa around, mate?”

“Last I’ve seen him, he was in the middle of making a deal with Salzar. What do you need him for?”

Before more could be said, a man storms in, assuming it was this Barbossa person they were asking about.

Barbossa didn’t seem too happy, something had to have happened within whatever deal it was he made. Barbossa remained where he was now standing, looking around at the eyes that surrounded him before turning around to one of the crew.

“She said my treasures would return to me. Who is this lass?”

“She claims to go by the name, (Y/n) Barbossa. I bumped into her on the deck, she seemed confused like no other of what was happening or where she was, she can’t even summon up to explain how she came about our ship.”

Just as soon as Barbossa had gotten his answer, he turned back to look at you, examining before questioning you. He wanted to know for certain that you are who you claim to be, while in hopes that this was not some kind of sick joke.

You felt a little shy the longer his eyes laid upon you before asking the first question.

“Do you have any solid proof that you are truly who you say you are?”

Barbossa’s voice sounded a little rough and stern, however, you responded but not with the answer he didn’t like to hear.

“I don’t have anything on me, is there a way I can prove my identity is legit?”

“We’ll see.” Barbossa responds, turning and walking away from you.

Over the next following days, Barbossa seemed to be giving you the cold shoulder. But really, he was just trying to figure out who you were, not trying to make you feel he didn’t want you there was not his intentions in the slightest.

It wasn’t until the night you had a visitor from Karina herself. You were her younger half sister, and she seemed to be happy to see you there although you haven’t properly met yet. Barbossa soon puts the pieces of the puzzle together as he begins to truly believe you are who you say you are. As for his own sake of mind, hoping beyond hope that you are truly who he was hoping to be. So later on in the day, you started exchanging small talk with Barbossa as he explains his side of the story and how you might have ended up onboard.

“Are you sure that’s really how I came about your ship? I don’t mean to offend, or question your authority, but that sounds almost like a fairytale to me.”

“I understand, but that’s how it truly happened.”

“I believe you’re honest about us being a family part, I discovered some clues that provided the evidence. I didn’t think much about it at first, but here I am now.”

“Last I check, (Y/n), we are family. Now what do you say? Are we family or not?”

“I honestly believe that we are.” You respond honestly.

“Good. Because I’m not going to let anything happen to you, I’m not going to lose you… not again.”

“Now what do we do?” You ask.

“Now we celebrate, a little family reunion over a bottle or two of rum.”

“Sounds good to me.”

You watch as the man you now know as your father, walk away to retrieve Karina so that you all can be truly be together.

As a family.

***

Requests: OPEN

@savvythepirate

[thefanficmonster]

Just Another One

Sequel to: ‘A Little Bit Of Honesty’

Corpse Husband x Actress!Reader (Female)

Warnings: Angst, Heartbreak, Mention of bad past relationships, Swearing

Genre: Angst, Romance, RPF (Real Person Fic)

Summary: They keep proving each other right in the most wrong ways possible. They each want to be guarded even if that means the other will be hurt. Maybe that’s what they want - to hurt one another because they’ve already hurt each other once before.

Requested by the lovely readers who enjoyed the previous fic ‘A Little Bit Of Honesty’. Sorry for the large time gap between the posting of the two fics but I still hope you guys will take the time to read it and if so I hope you enjoy it! Love you all with all my heart, Vy ❤

When you go out of your way to avoid leaving the house your options of entertainment are severely limited and you can’t blame anyone or anything but yourself for it. Today, I wouldn’t have gone out of my apartment even if I was one of those people who frequent the outdoors seeing as how the sky is trying to flood the Earth with all this nonstop rain. It does set a mood for a perfect night in but when you spend all your nights in doing the same thing over and over again, the atmosphere is practically meaningless. And so I ‘ve decided to resort to channel surfing as though I’ll find something interesting on TV that I haven’t yet seen on one of my social media timelines.

I pass several cooking channels on my journey, making a mental note of their individual numbers in case I don’t stumble across anything capable of better distracting me from my boredom and loneliness that’s slowly starting to creep in. I pass by a few movie channels showing teenage romcoms as if to celebrate the start of summer so you can imagine how quickly I moved on from those. Then come the celebrity channels which can often get a laugh out of me because of how pathetic and unbelievably ridiculous they are. And so, I stick around one where there’s a broadcast on a movie showing that’s happening tonight in LA. Oddly enough, despite my anxiety, going to a movie showing has always been on my list of things I’d want to do. This can be considered living vicariously or rubbing salt into the wound that I’ll probably never go because my anxiety and fear of being recognized is too severe. Either way I stick around to watch it.

And man do I regret it now looking at several different angels of a couple of actors entering the venue where they are to be photographed and asked questions by the mob of paparazzi that’s gathered due to the massive event. That in and of itself doesn’t sound - and really isn’t - so bad. However, it’s important to note that the actress in this duo is Y/N. Y/N L/N. My Y/N....shit, sorry, I mean my FRIEND Y/N, her arm linked with whatever-the-fuck-his-name-is who is holding an umbrella above the both of them, shielding them from the downpour of rain that is also taking place in LA apparently.

“The two were seen entering the venue earlier this evening, looking particularly cozy in each other’s presence if I do say so myself. The rain probably worked nicely in their favor.“ The first reporter says, her teasing tone of voice sending chills of anger down my spine as I glare at the screen, hands balled in fists, jaw clenched - all my body’s instinctive reactions to what is being shown to me. I know I technically have no right to behave or feel this way, in fact I should be fucking happy for Y/N and her successful career and the progress in her love life. But damn it how can I?! I was so damn close to kissing this girl! I was so fucking close to falling in another trap, tripping and landing in the embrace of another liar and user, another girl who switches partners more often than shoes. How could I’ve been so reckless to get so close to her even platonically? How did we become close enough for me to 1) show her my face; 2) start inviting her over to my apartment regularly; and how didn’t I notice the kind of messed up person she was all that time.

She was all sweet and flirting and shit a week or so ago and now she’s doing the exact same thing with him! The cameras are capturing them perfectly: every laugh, every exchange of a knowing look or nod, ever smack to his arm when he tells a joke. But what bothers me most is the many times he’s wrapped his arm around her to pull her closer. Not just for pictures, but just because the fucker felt like it! And Y/N doesn’t seem to mind it at all. 

“They have been the talk of the town recently, so while they could just be adding fuel to the fire, they could also have been caught by the flame and ‘caught feelings’ as they say. Regardless these two are a view we’d like to see more often.“ The other reporter says and that’s the final straw.

In one swift motion I turn the TV off and throw the remote across the room. It hits the wall and falls to the ground in several pieces, broken by the force of the impact. Just like I am broken by the force of the impact of these news. I don’t know which is worse: the fact that I fell for her and almost let her know it; the fact that she’s just another member of the club I don’t want anywhere near my life; or the fact that I can’t believe it.

Yeah that’s right - one foolish part of me refuses to believe that’s she’d do such a thing. I think that’s the same part which is still in awe of her so you can bet I ignore that part the majority of the time.

She is just another one. Not the one. Having been hurt before doesn’t mean she won’t hurt me or anyone else she’s gonna be with. Hurt people hurt people.

And damn has she hurt me, probably without knowing a damn thing. How selfish can you be, Y/N? How selfish can you really get? And how much am I going to allow you to hurt me?

                                                             *  *  *

“Thank you so much, Andrew. I would’ve died on the spot of anxiety if I was on my own.“ I say to my best friend who is currently sitting next to me on a park bench, in a tux, eating a cheeseburger. I too am still in my gown and am also gorging on a cheeseburger of my own.

“Don’t mention it. Us anxious people need to stick together.“ He bumps his shoulder against mine, stealing a small genuine smile from me, “Plus I couldn’t not come with you. You know how much I like a good rumor.“

I scoff, “Of course you do, but then again there was no need to add to what the media has already made a whole-ass ship out of.” I roll my eyes and take another bite. My appetite hasn’t been in its best condition so I’m only eating this under Andrew’s orders. I have no idea how people can ship us romantically, he’s the definition of an older - and very bossy - brother to me. I wish I could tell each and every single one of those girls who hate me because I’ve ‘stolen their man’ that I’d most likely be their sister in law rather than man snatcher, seeing as how my relationship with Andrew is so sibling-like.

That’s because we’re too alike, no one gets that. People play the ‘opposites attract’ car more often than I consider rational. But  then again when they see a couple like Andrew and I - who are basically the same person in different bodies - they suddenly think we’re super compatible. Trust me, we’re not. And everyone who’s been on set with us will tell you the same.

“What can I say...“ he shrugs, smirking at me, “I like the fun. I bet Becca doesn’t though.“

I can’t help but huff. Andrew is the only one I’ve ever openly expressed my frustrations with Rebecca to. He was super helpful on the subject, seeing as how he can relate - many partners of his have tried to use him, some of which even succeeded. He’s more than qualified to school me on the topic but it turned more into sharing bad experiences. One of which was that instance back at Corpse’s apartment.

“And neither does Corpse I suppose.“ As though he’s read my mind, he pokes the hurt spot, pouring salt in the wound causing me to visibly cringe as though the pain was physical - because it was, I felt it in my chest and in my gut, a sharp stab of guilt and regret. 

Why did I let it come to that? Why did I let us get so close? How did I not think of the consequences?

“I don’t care if he does or doesn’t.“ My hand automatically reaches for the pocket of the jeans I’m not even wearing in search of a cigarette. Not that I’d be able to light one even if I had them on me - Andrew would smack it out of my hand before I could even take a single puff.

He has the audacity to laugh, “You’re such a bad liar, Y/N.”

That’s all he needs to say really - that’s enough to make me feel seen and understood. Though that’s not always a good thing. I often times wish he couldn’t read me so well. Better said: I wish I didn’t let myself be so readable, you know. I’m just glad he’s the one who sees me because if it were anyone else they’d use this vulnerability of mine against me. I’m well aware that it’s a weakness, a really inconvenient one, but damn it I can’t get rid of it. I feel like I’ll be less human if I lose it. Everyone’s allowed to be vulnerable, some just are lucky enough to choose who they’ll be vulnerable around. I’m lucky enough to to have a choice, not so lucky in the people I choose to trust. Guess that’s not a luck thing, it’s just my inability to decipher whether a person is worth all the pain and torture of coming clean to them or not. So far many people have burnt me but two stick out in particular - Becca and Corpse. Corpse especially, which is the odd thing considering he hasn’t even wronged me in any way. At least not yet.

“Your phone’s vibrating.“ Andrew says, pulling me out of my overflowing head when he hands me my phone which I handed to him because of my dress’ lack of pockets.

“Thanks.“ I mutter through a sigh as I take it from him, checking the notification I’ve gotten.

My stomach drops: it’s a message from Corpse.

“Hey I saw you are in LA but we have a stream tomorrow, will you still be participating?“

Before I can reply, he sends me another message.

“I know you’re probably very busy but we get the most viewership on the streams when you’re in them so....“

I’ve probably been staring at my phone screen for longer than I thought since Andrew felt the need to make sure I was still breathing: “Hey, you ok? You look terribly pale.” I can barely hear him let alone reply. I can’t hear my own thoughts to know what to reply to him. “Y/N, you’re scaring me.”

I’m scaring myself too, Andrew. I’m scared too. I’m scared of how broken my picker has become. I almost kissed this guy! I almost entrusted all my thoughts, hopes, wishes and goals to him! What the fuck was I thinking?! Well, at least I know what he was thinking about - viewership. Likes, subs, views, publicity. The more eyes on the stream the better for him and everyone else. I genuinely want to applaud him, no one has been so direct about using me before. I was in a relationship with Becca for almost a year before I accidentally found out what she had been doing the whole time. No one’s ever smacked me in the face with this much honesty. It’s bittersweet really.

I want to laugh, I want to cry, slap myself across the face, slap him...I want to do so much, but all I can do now is sit in silence and think of how I could be so stupid.

He’s just another one, how did I not see that? How do I never see it until it’s too late? Why is one part of me still screaming: ‘He didn’t mean it like that!’

AND WHY THE FUCK DO I WANT TO BELIEVE IT?

@maat-the-prescriptive  @simonsbluee  @save-the-sky  @itsminniekat  @hacker-ghost  @bi-andready-tocry  @imtiredaffff  @jazzkaurtheglorious  @hereforbeebo  @fandomgirl17  @chrysanthykios  @maehemscorpyus  @loraleiix  @letsloveimagines  @annshit  @i-cant-choose-a-username-help  @enigmaticmaze  @divine-artemis  @waterlilypat  @idontknowwhatthisisfam  @evi-ka  @classyandfabulous00  @redperson58  @lilysdaydreams @solowheein  @mythicalamphitrite  @axen-gers  @luckygirl144  @nj01  @buddyemily   @the-albino-lioness  @stardream14  @gdhdkfnn  @nomadicgypsyy  @preciousskye  @fluffysuicideunicornsworld  @o-kaelin  @manacharlotte  @awkward-youtube-trash  @lolalee24  @bonky-beerns  @meme-lord-and-savior-sebastian  @strawbrinkofdeath  @teenloves  @tams0527  @browneyespinkhair  @starstruckllamapuppy  @daisychains012  @y0ulooked  @tinytacosuitcaseflap @supernatural-is-my-only-life  @jula-pauline  @melodykitty  @just-that-bi-girl  @crazybutconfidentaf  @lowellshade @alphakees  @bellero  @weallneednamjesus  @starryhanji  @boiled-onionrings  @husherstan  @fockingwhore  @melaningoddessthings  @prettypastelpetals  @haleypearce  @godwhyamiawkward  @y-napotat  @daisychainyoonmin  @little-miss-rebel3  @free-wheelin-bi-sexual  @redmoon261 @darkacademic2  @wiseflamingoqueen  @into-the-end  @namikhai-i  @nastiablr  @thelittleplantlover  @mirktuan  @dont-hyuck @jjk-bunny  @vintagegothlover  @easygoingtheatre  @itsrandombooklover  @miiaivi  @emmybaybee  @befourgolden  @jjk-is-my-shit  @eternalteaaars  @spacebadgerx  @princesslunalight  @acequinn14  @samm48  @misselsbells06 @simp-lykawa  @fo-love  @marishimomura-blog  @therealglenncoco  @cinnamonbun332  @killtherandomness  @sanshinexxxsan  @fee-btheweeb  @press-lay  @cathleenpotgieter16  @jazzydoesstuff  @moonlxghtbay  @forestrain2000  @hyunjinhugs  @blood-of-fandoms  @lovellylies  @ukiyolixx  @simpforhpcharacters  @chrisdylan17  @parkerjisung  @pedernille  @theodonyous  @wineandionysus  @malfoystilinskii05  @morbid-x  @coryisagee  @jessewa26  @scoobydooluver97 @mindintheskies365  @raeanneinwonderland  @indecisive-empanada  @gluttonypalace  @loriane2503  @btsiguess-kpop  @khaoticbunny  @lucidlycactus  @smiithys  @rottenroyalebooks  @kpopgirlbtssvt  @fangirl-tc27  @fr0z3n-1  @notmesimpingfortechno  @shotarosleftpinky  @kunoi-chan  @idk-whats-wrong-with-me  @yikeroonie  @goldenstarofthunderclan  @poetry-and-tea  @ama-do-writing-stuff  @wishbonewolf  @emeraldxhope  @t0xick1tty  @kusuinko  @speakyourselfloveyourself  @sophia902103  @lo-manburg  @classsykittykat  @dmgama  @depressedpuppythatneedscoffee  @btsiguess-kpop  @akaashi-baby  @gun-jong-simp  @geschichtenfee  @yerapotato-wp  @browneyedgirl365  @thysagclub  @sparklycloudnight  @helloatomicshadow  @queentorresstuff @vtte @val-gal  @lucy-bunny17  @aaliyahh0  @katluckybear  @boyleanti  @straybids  @franchesca-791  @cosmicstorm19  @averyisbackinthetrashcan  @aomi-nabi  @xlanawriter  @allensimpsforcorpse  @sunnyrae-cessh  @ladykxxx08  @meowiemari  @renupf  @booklover76  @sra-verissimo

[sam-t-a]

Okay. 

*Deep breath* 

I think I’m finally calm enough to put into words exactly why I hated the finale and why I wasn’t completely surprised that I hated it. 

(Heads-up: this is really long and pretty negative. If you disagree, I would of course appreciate your point of view and love to hear it, but just thought I’d let you know in case this is the kind of post you would like to avoid.)

To me, it felt like every character on the show got betrayed in some way or another, but the main ones are Han Seo (devastatingly), Chayoung (obviously) and Han Seok (bear with me). 

Cha Young: 

She started out as a solid FL who annoyed some people for sure, but who had so much promise as someone unconventional and bold. The way her mother’s death affected her and caused a clear shift in her personality was a super interesting plot point that really never got explored. We have no idea how she came to sacrifice her morality in joining Wusang, just that she wanted to spite her father, which is a very superficial exploration. She gets cute idiosyncrasies in lieu of an actual character and an actual character arc. 

We also, halfway through the show, seem to forget that her father's death was the initial trigger. Cha young does not suggest bold ideas or intricate plans, she doesn’t fill the gaps Vincenzo is incapable of filling (because that would require that Vincenzo have flaws, and that’s not something the writers can abide), and she’s literally victimized in episode 19 and bedridden in episode 20, and that is IT. 

Someone who started out supposedly as Vincenzo’s equal just became another piece in his chess set, no matter how important a piece she may be. 

So her role as a badass avenger is trashed. That leaves her role as a love interest. Now, as Vincenzo’s love interest, she was supposed to get kidnapped in like episode 5 or 6 at the most if the villain has any brains whatsoever (Han Seok may or may not, more on that later). We need a reason for that not to happen too early. Cue villain is somehow in love with her for all of 15 minutes or so throughout a 20-episode series because a love triangle is inconceivable with the show’s current structure and for its purposes. 

So, she spends 15 or so episodes making the first move on Vincenzo, every time, putting herself out there, creating cute moments, getting nothing in return, and then he leaves. No confession, nothing much, he wasn’t even going to say goodbye or give her the choice of coming with him. 

I’m sure more chayenzo-oriented fans have already expressed all the necessary outrage over this, so I’ll move on to the part that I’ve personally been way more emotionally invested in from the get go: the Jang brothers. 

Han Seo: 

I was among the minority that  hated the “Vinny hyung” angle from the get-go and I’ve ranted about it in another post, so I won’t get into it here in-depth, but basically it was because I felt like Vincenzo hadn’t earned it, so to have the last words Han Seo hears be “You deserve to be my brother” or whatever the fuck he was on about PISSED ME OFF. It’s VINCENZO who doesn’t deserve to be Han Seo’s brother and hasn’t done a single thing to earn it. He was a good ally. The situation he allowed Han Seo to be a part of was beneficial to him, but Han Seo’s attachment to him was neither healthy nor heartwarming, and it certainly wasn’t returned on the level he offered it.

Vincenzo’s disregard of his death didn’t strike me as odd because I never saw enough indications that this was a two-way street and Han Seo’s safety and well-being came second so often that I didn’t get the impression Vincenzo was doing much to keep him alive. This is what I meant when I said the show was glorifying a torture survivor’s trauma responses. Han Seo himself, as a torture survivor, meant nothing to them. He was just there to create one more contrived comparison between Vincenzo and Han Seok. Instead of recovering from the trauma, it’s simply employed to someone else’s favor. He doesn’t go to prison for Han Seok, he takes a bullet for Vincenzo, and we’re supposed to see that as so much better.

All of that might (JUST MIGHT) not have ruined the show for me if he’d died better. 1) It was narratively pointless and totally avoidable, 2) they could’ve framed it as heroic, but instead Han Seok’s hand patting his head is pushing it down, so he can’t even get shot with his chin up and his back straight, Taec’s already taller, so the angle’s fucked and the whole cinematography screamed “kicking an injured puppy” and most certainly NOT “survivor finally stands up to his abuser”. The final nail in the proverbial and literal coffin is that he is mourned by no one. They’re FLIRTING not 3 MINUTES LATER, it felt so tone deaf and left such a bad taste. As I said, I didn’t expect significant mourning from Vincenzo (gotta say, I didn’t expect no mourning, that was a shocker), and Cha young and the tenants had no real interactions with him and no reason to mourn him, which left only one person who could. 

Which brings me to Han Seok. 

Han Seok started out as a solid villain, clear goals, clear skills that help him achieve his goals and basically make him a villain worth defeating, and a very complex relationship with both his own psychopathy and his brother. 

Let me get it out of the way: I do not believe Han Seok is capable of killing Han Seo because he had every reason and every opportunity to do so in previous episodes and couldn’t do it (I say couldn’t because a certain degree of reluctance is in itself inability). Han Seo’s danger far outweighed his material value the minute he shot Han Seok and then completely lost any value once he came out to the world as the chairman and it became clear that the prosecution would be going after him if anything happened, and not his brother. But time and again, he’s proven he’s all bark and no bite when it comes to Han Seo (killing-wise, specifically). 

The scene where he asks him to beat Vincenzo to death could be interpreted as him wanting to give Vincenzo the “painful death” he would have given him, but honestly, I think he was way past that point. He just wanted him dead in the “You crazy? we have to kill him before he kills us” sense. To that end, killing off a key ally of Vincenzo’s, who betrayed you and almost got you killed a bunch of times, should take priority, but Han Seok’s priority is reclaiming Han Seo by forcing him back onto his side. Now, much like his “love for Cha young”, Han Seok’s keenness on not killing his brother was essential to the writers so that Han Seo can justifiably make it this far and still be useful to Vincenzo (he can’t help if Han Seok completely excludes him from all events, plans and management processes, so Han Seok needs to want to keep him on his side enough not to do that even when it’s more prudent). 

All of this isn’t to say it’s unbelievable that he would kill Han Seo, but it’s DEFINITELY unbelievable that he would stay the same man after killing him. Someone here (I’m sorry, I don’t rememebr who) once said that Han Seo had become, over time, far more of a foil to his brother than Vincenzo was. To me, this means that Post-Han Seo Han Seok would be out of balance (tilted screen), unhinged in a way he never was before. The Han Seok we see shrugs and “oh, well”-s and moves on in a flash, not really any different from the villain he was four minutes and a whole brother earlier. 

This is very consistent with the way the show has been de-humanizing him from the start. I’m not saying this to defend Han Seok in any way, he’s a serial killer, an abuser and a total maniac. But you can be all those things and still a human being. In fact, you can ONLY be those things if you’re a human being. The show used its villain vs villain idea to justify a lot, but in the end, Vincenzo had to be a protagonist. He had to follow up every “I’m a villain” with a contrived “but at least I’m not (insert something worse)”. 

On the level of humans:

1) Vincenzo is supposedly different because he doesn’t hurt children or women (unless the women deserve it, and shooting a parent in front of their kid doesn’t count as hurting.) 

But we never see Han Seok hurting women or children either. In fact, if we proceed with the “chayoung is the myung hee of the good guys” comparison, he hasn’t hurt any women nearly as badly as Vincenzo did. 

2) Babel vs Mafia 

Babel’s corruption is compared a lot to the mafia, with Vincenzo commenting repeatedly that the people are WORSE than the mafia...which is bullshit. Babel is a set of companies that provide goods and services, but use illegal means to maximize their profit, so they hurt/kill people in the process because they want more money and care about money more than ethics. The Mafia is an inherently criminal organization that functions PURELY on the basis of its criminality. Every single dime Vincenzo spends is blood money. None of it is clean. And while we’re on the topic, I find the whole “taking Miri under his wing” thing pretty unreasonable too because he tried to have her killed you guys, I cannot believe we’re just glossing over that. He had everyone who worked on that vault killed, just random fucking construction workers. And he’s not sorry. And the show tells you he shouldn’t be. 

3) Repentance

Han Seok says outright he won’t atone, and while Vincenzo says no such thing out loud he just...doesn’t repent, I guess. He keeps the blood money, he goes back to being a full-time mafia dude doing mafia things. He leaves the same man he arrived. 

So, if on the level of harm inflicted upon humanity, Vincenzo and Han Seok are pretty much equal (and Vincenzo might actually be worse), then why should we root for Vincenzo? 

Well, my friend, that’s where the dehumanization comes in! 

I was initially very excited to see their portrayal of a psychopath because of the very interesting ways in which the informal moral code and official justice system surrounding a psychopath/sociopath/narcissist affect their behavior and their chances of not turning out rotten, and the show looked like it was looking at corruption in general. 

But as the show went on, the villain vs villain thing proved not to be enough, Vincenzo has to be better in some way (or if you’re as obsessed with him as the writers are, then ALL ways), so it became a villain vs monster narrative. Vincenzo isn’t ethical or fair or in any way interested in having a remotely positive impact on society, but at least he’s A HUMAN BEING unlike SOMEBODY. So, the characterization goes to shit, Han Seok becomes a cartoon card-board cut out of a villain and emphasis is put on how pointless his violence is, as opposed to how purposeful Vincenzo’s is. 

This is dangerous on multiple levels (and I promise this is the last point I’m making). 

1) For people in general, dehumanizing abusers/murderers/etc. makes us very liable to forget that you don’t have to be “a monster” to cause harm, and it makes people complacent in their belief that they are “not bad people” since they aren’t total monsters. The Banality of Evil is a thing, and in this series, it goes completely ignored. No one is inherently incapable of good or inherently undeserving of humanity. 

2) For victims of abuse in specific, it’s dangerous to portray abusers (including serial killer and non-serial killer ones) as entirely bad and unlovable, because it poses the dual risk of making victims less likely to acknowledge their abuse if it comes from someone who cares about or loves them on some level because the idea that someone cannot both love and hurt you is so stereotypical. Your abuser can genuinely want you in their lives and need you and, on some level, love you, and IT DOESN’T MATTER if that love doesn’t stop them from hurting you. 

On the other hand, portraying the victims of abuse as capable of flipping an off switch and hating the abuser with no hesitation or second thoughts to the point of unapologetically and cheerfully helping someone kill them and having no mixed feelings about it sends the message that if you CAN’T do that, then are you really abused? Are sure you’re not complicit in your own abuse? Do you even want to get rid of them? 

So this is basically why the way the show ended was so painfully disappointing for me. And the main reason it hit so hard was that it was initially so good and had so much promise. I really expected more.

[emwritesfootball]

I Want You | Dominic Calvert-Lewin

Word Count: 2,051

A/N: Yet another piece for @footballffbarbiex's On The Big Screen Challenge. Since I'm on the midseason finale of the episode of Grey's Anatomy that this is based off of, I figured I'd post this now. This is based off of Jackson and April, the scenes from the season 9 finale and season 10 episode 12, altered for the football world. I've had this sitting in my Docs since 1 January lmao. Enjoy xx

- - -

The gasp of the crowd of almost 40,000 at Goodison Park was simultaneous in the 38th minute when Dom was taken down by the opposition’s defense right as he was about to score. The tackle had been brutal and uncalled for, earning the centreback a straight red card from the referee while Dom stayed on the ground.

As if sensing catastrophe the medics and physio were on the pitch almost immediately. You held your breath, one hand clutching the fabric of the Everton jersey you wore while your other squeezed Lucas Digne’s hand. Your boyfriend tried to soothe you as best he could, but you were distraught. Dom was clearly in pain and clearly injured, and you couldn’t do a damn thing but watch him get carried off on a stretcher.

“I have to go to him,” you muttered, but Lucas stopped you.

“He’ll be fine, Chérie,” Lucas said, his voice low as his thumb rubbed circles over the back of your hand. “You know we’ve got the best medical team - they’re gonna take real good care of Dom, okay?”

“Mmhmm.” You nodded, biting down on your bottom lip to quell your unspoken fears.

Your mind was reeling as Richarlison took Dom’s place on the pitch, your stomach sick with nervousness for Dom. When you’d first started playing for the women’s team, Dominic had been your sidekick; he’d shown you around the stadium as well as the surrounding city. It hadn’t been long before you were falling for him, the two of you hooking up after an intense friendly between the men’s and women’s teams.

Over time, you’d started to fall for him, your friends-with-benefits relationship no longer enough for your heart. It had all gone wrong after a pregnancy scare - Dom telling you he was all in and saying he’d marry you and the two of you would raise the kid together. When you’d found out you weren’t pregnant and told him that he no longer had to worry about getting married, Dom had ended things then and there, both of you hurt for different reasons.

Soon after, he started “dating” (sleeping with) one of the physios. You hadn’t had any intention of getting involved with his teammate, but Lucas had come into your life as a friend while you’d been with Dom and things progressed after your break up. Now, you were engaged to Lucas, with a wedding coming up in less than six months - after an incredibly public proposal that you couldn’t say no to - but there was a part of your heart that still yearned for Dom.

The second Lucas let go of your hand, you were up out of your seat, flashing your pass as you raced through the tunnels at Goodison Park until you finally managed to locate Dom. The ambulance was silent while its lights flashed and you knew you didn’t have much time. Emergency personnel were loading him onto the ambulance and you were reacting within seconds.

“DOMINIC!” you shouted, panic racing through you. His name felt foreign on your tongue - you tried not to utter it if you could help it - but in that moment, it was all you had.

“Miss, you’re going to have to stand back,” one of the EMTs said, putting his hands on your shoulders.

The tears started to fall right then and you couldn’t stop them. “I...I need to see him. He’s my husband!” You stammered out the words in-between sobs, barely aware when the medic let you go and you rushed into the ambulance, the door slamming behind you as it lurched forward and started to race to the nearest hospital. You tried your best to stay out of the way while the medics worked, fighting back tears with every concerned look or sentence they shared with each other. Dom looked out of it and you hoped he’d been put on some painkillers, especially with the state of his arm. You hoped and prayed that his arm would be the worst of it, but you couldn’t be sure. You took his good hand in both of yours, pressing a kiss to the back of it as you whispered, “It’s okay, bubs. I’m here.”

***

People didn’t start arriving until almost two hours later, Dom’s girlfriend included. You didn’t know how many tears you’d cried in that timespan, your body physically exhausted from the day’s events. Lucas immediately found you in the waiting area, pulling you into a hug. “I was so worried about you, Chérie,” he mumbled, pressing a kiss to the top of your head.

“S-Sorry,” you stuttered, feeling a new wave of tears coming on. “I just...I panicked and managed to convince them to let me ride in the ambulance with Dom and I…”

“It’s okay,” Lucas said, taking your face in his hands. “I’m glad Dom had you by his side.” Of course Lucas knew about your history with Dom but you’d always reassured him that he was the one you wanted and not Dom. Now, you weren’t so sure.

You snuck into Dom’s room right before visiting hours were set to end for the night. Lucas was waiting for you in the car park, warming up the car. A part of you felt guilty for what you were about to do, but after today you couldn’t stay silent.

Relief flooded you when you saw him sitting upright on the hospital bed, shirtless, his arm in a sling. The relief quickly faded, however, and all the other emotions you’d bottled up for the last six hours came bubbling up.

“What the hell, Dom?!” You screamed, rushing toward him. Tears were falling hard and fast as you shoved him, the nurse in the room who was checking his vitals came rushing over to stand between the two of you. “You could’ve died!” Sure, it was a little over-dramatic, but you had honestly thought you were going to lose him in the moment when he’d been down for over five minutes on the pitch.

The nurse calmed you down, not wanting to cause a scene. You didn’t either, but your emotions were so heightened it was almost like you were back in the ambulance scared out of your mind. “I’m fine, I swear,” you said, reassuring her when your breathing had slowed and you were starting to think properly.

“Okay,” she said, nodding and making her way towards the door. She turned to Dom, saying, “I’ll be right outside if you need me.”

Dom gave her a grateful smile, turning his attention to you. “Don’t,” he said, his voice weary. “Whatever it is that’s buggin’ you, just keep it to yourself, alright?”

You froze, staring at him. Your mind was racing again and you were so consumed with flashbacks of him lying motionless on the pitch that you couldn't speak for a few moments. Dom stared back, lost. He vaguely remembered your presence in the back of the ambulance but up until this moment, he had been so sure that he’d just dreamed you up, the painkillers playing tricks on his mind.

You took a deep breath, needing all the air you could get in order to say what you wanted to say. “I want you...Dominic.” His name was barely a whisper on your lips, but Dom heard you as if you’d screamed it from the rooftops. You ran a hand through your hair, your voice breaking as you repeated the phrase. “I want you.” Your voice wavered on the last word and Dom wasn’t sure what he was going to do.

He said your name, disbelief colouring his tone, but you cut him off.

“I haven’t been fair to you, I know,” you began, stepping towards him until you were standing at the end of his hospital bed, “And I’ve-I’ve really hurt you-”

“You’re getting married,” Dominic said slowly, unsure if he was trying to convince you or himself of the reality the two of you were facing.

It was like you hadn’t heard him. “When I saw you lying there on the pitch after that collision and I thought you were gone, I-”

“You’re getting married.” He said it again, this time with more conviction.

You dried your tears, your resolve returning. When you spoke next, your words shocked both of you. “Unless you can give me a reason not to.”

Dom stared at you, unable to say anything. He internally weighed his options. A few months ago, getting married to you was all he could think about - now, he wasn’t so sure. The two of you had been through unbelievable hurdles in your relationship, but you were engaged to another man who also happened to be one of Dom’s teammates and Dom knew he couldn’t stand by and fuck up the team dynamic or your relationship with Lucas.

***

Ultimately, he’d said nothing that night and the two of you hadn’t spoken about it since. You continued planning your wedding to Lucas while maintaining a stilted version of a friendship with Dom, which was how Dom had ended up in the congregation at your wedding.

“Give them the strength to commit their love to one another. Unshakeable through any storm; unbreakable in the face of any stress; a promise we simply refuse to break.” The pastor spoke, but Dominic barely heard any of it, except when he said, “And you, YN and Lucas’s closest friends and family, are here today to bear witness to their union. Will you promise to love and support their marriage in all the days to come? If so, please respond ‘we will’.”

Everyone responded, a chorus of “We will,” filling the quaint chapel.

Dominic didn't know what to do. He was acutely aware of his physio girlfriend by his side, but even more so aware of the fact that if he didn’t do something right now, he would lose you to his teammate forever. In that moment, nothing else mattered but his love for you and the love that he knew that you had for him.

The pastor continued to speak, but Dom heard nothing. He leaned in to his girlfriend, unsure what to say. “I, uh-” he started, pausing.

“What?” She asked, looking at him with curiosity that quickly turned into understanding.

“I’m sorry.”

“I’m happy to be here today to be able to do this for you. I-” The pastor paused mid-sentence as Dominic stood up, drawing the attention of everyone in the room.

You and Lucas were holding hands, your backs still to him. Finally, both of you turned to look at the commotion, shock written all over your face as your gaze connected with Dom’s. He flushed, giving the room a nervous smile before sitting back down.

The pastor chuckled nervously and for a brief moment, Dom wondered if he’d ever had anyone stop a wedding before. “YN and Lucas, I have known the two of you for quite some time and I’m happy to be here today-” he started again, and that’s when Dom knew he had to say something.

Dom took a deep breath, his mind made up.

“I love you,” he said, his voice deep and sure as he stood up for the second time. “I always have.”

You stared back at him, your eyes wide. If you were being honest, a part of you had dreamed about a moment like this - Dominic standing up and professing his love for you - but you hadn’t been prepared for it to actually happen.

Dom continued, “I love everything about you. Even the things I don’t like, I love.” You could feel Lucas fuming next to you. “And I want you with me.” Everyone was looking around in disbelief, but it was like nobody else existed but you and Dom in this moment. “I love you and I think that you love me, too.” He paused, his voice wavering. “Do you?”

You could feel Lucas’s eyes on you; your family’s, too, but there was only one person in the world you wanted right now and it wasn’t the man at the altar next to you.

“I do,” you said, your gaze fixed on Dom. “I do,” you repeated, stepping down off the altar and running towards the man who had been your whole world for longer than you cared to admit.

[beeapolitan]

A Different Rhythm

Happy holidays, @onetruethree​! I was your @mlsecretsanta​ for the year!

I’m sorry it took so long to finally finish, it ended up being a lot longer than I initially planned. But I hope you still enjoy this Marigami fic!

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Kagami felt the tense vibrations of her wooden sword slamming against marble travel down her wrists and up to her forearms. Another strike off target from the wool dummy facing her. The fourth miss in ten swings. The nagging numbness in her hands was all the proof she needed to confirm her recent observations.

It was obvious – she was off her rhythm. Not just in her swordsmanship, but in every other manner of her being. It wasn’t hard to pinpoint the cause of the shift. Life had turned upside down for her in the past few months. Instead of being isolated and given a mountain of work to do, she had found out what it was like to be social for a change. Getting to fence with the famous Adrien Agreste had opened a lot of doors for her. She gained a friend, an avenue of escape from everyday life, and a collection of experiences she’d never even considered possible for herself.

And on top of all that, there was Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Her first real friend outside of Adrien. They hadn’t started off on a great note, but things had been steadily improving since then. She had come to consider Marinette someone very dear to her. Lately, Kagami had become fairly skilled at coming up with excuses to see her friend whenever her mother’s iron grip eased up a bit. Solitary fencing practices turned to café meetups, simple runs for food became quick shopping trips, and morning jogs often lead her past the Dupain-Cheng Bakery where she could at least catch of glimpse of Marinette, if nothing else. In her younger age, she would have been caught by her mother already, but the restrictions weren’t as tight as they once were. She clearly had a ways to go before her mother would let her off the leash completely, but there was still a clear improvement.

Despite the improvements, there were still plenty of reminders that Kagami was basically chained to her mother’s hip. The most recent of which sat on her bed just within eyeshot. A slim bright white kimono with black outlines of lilies lining the sides. It was specifically given to Kagami by her mother to be worn at a meeting with some important people. Kagami only partly listened to her mother’s instructions once she laid the kimono out for her. It was common for her to be dragged along to meetings and events with little warning or explanation beforehand. It was a bother, but a necessary one. The more she complied with that side of her mother’s requests, the easier it was to live life in her own way when she was alone.

In any other context, it would have been a beautiful piece of clothing to wear, but looking at it only reminded Kagami of how she felt lately. About how her mother toted her around like a pet instead of a daughter. If the progress she had made felt like climbing a steep staircase, the reminder of her status in the family was like those same stairs flipping around to put her back at the bottom. It was so frustrating. All this training, the studying, and for what? How much of it would it take to be seen as the person she’d become instead of the sole Tsurugi daughter?

Kagami raised her sword overhead and brought it down hard on the training dummy’s head. If she split this thing in two with raw strength, would that do the trick? Her mother had always preached strength as a part of her training. How much did she need to be free of her influence? She brought down the sword again even harder, rattling the dummy on its stand. She hit it again, her arms pushed forward by her anger. She hit again and again, her strikes growing in power yet lacking her usual accuracy as they flailed around. With a loud shout, she swung for the dummy again but missed, causing her sword to go flying out of her hands and straight into a set of ornamental blades on the wall. They rattled around for a minute before remaining in place.

Just before Kagami could breathe easy, the lower hanging blade of the two fell from its sheathe, landing right on the edge of her bed. Right where the kimono from her mother lay. If Kagami’s breath hadn’t been held, she might not have heard the sound of tearing fabric so vividly. She didn’t move from her spot after the sound finally stopped. Standing still in the middle of the room granted her a defense from the truth, albeit a weak one. In reality however, there was no escaping the fact that her burst of anger had gotten her into unbelievable trouble.

Slowly, she inched her way over to her bed to inspect the damage. When she finally got there, her eyes bulged at the sight. It was a big tear, a jagged line running diagonally across the back of the kimono. It was shaped like a crooked smile, mocking her as her blood ran cold. Kagami could practically hear her mother’s shrill yelling coming through it, holding her in place.

She couldn’t stay here. She had to move.

Kagami carefully folded the kimono and placed it inside her duffel bag after removing her fencing equipment. She slung the bag around her shoulders and bolted out of the house, the thumping of her quick footsteps down the stairs matching the sound and pace of her heartbeat. The bright midday sun hit her eyes hard once she made it out onto the busy Paris streets. It didn’t take long for her feet to propel her in a random direction.

There was nowhere in the city she knew of that could undo her mistake very easily, but leaving it be was not an option. If her mother found out about the tear, it would make their home hell on Earth for the next few days. Kagami would practically be put on lockdown, forced to study and train with no contact to the outside world. That couldn’t happen. She wouldn’t let it. And yet, she knew determination would only get her so far. She still needed actual help.

When it came to fashion and clothing design, the first person to come to mind was Gabriel Agreste, but she obviously couldn’t go to him. Whatever pact he shared with her mother would expose her the second she told him about her accident. No, she would have to try harder than that to find help. But where was she supposed to start? After leaving her home, she had simply been walking without a destination in mind, hoping that some luck might be thrown her way for once. That wasn’t looking all that likely, however.

Kagami finally stopped her train of thought long enough to look at where she was walking. She had autopiloted to a part of town that seemed familiar to her for some reason. That reason became strikingly apparent once the smell of baked goods drifted past her nose. Her head jerked to the left, where a large window with gold trim on the edges sat just a few feet away. She had seen those very windows plenty of times, as well as the pair of bluebell eyes fixed right on her. Behind the large glass window stood Marinette, pinches of flour dotting her face and the tan apron hanging from her neck. Marinette put on a wide smile that pushed her cheeks up and waved.

Despite having absolutely nothing to be happy about, Kagami couldn’t stop the thin smile forming on her face at the sight of the blue-eyed girl.

“Kagami, hey!” Marinette’s voice bounded with her steps out of the bakery door. “What are you doing here?”

“I, um, happened to be passing by.”

“Oh, in that case, do you want to come inside? I just finished making some sweet buns.”

Once the initial butterflies had died down, Kagami realized what she had stumbled upon. Maybe her luck had come through after all.

“Actually, Marinette…do you think you could do me a favor?”

“Hm?”

It wasn’t often Kagami was able to be in a house that wasn’t her own, especially not one that radiated so much pleasantness. Marinette’s home was the very definition of comfort, with smells of warm bread coming from the bakery below and an atmosphere that made you feel like you were being swaddled in a thick blanket. Walking into Marinette’s room in particular gave her the same feeling as being met with the midday sun coming out of her own house. It was so bright and lived in, with pictures lining the walls and odd little trinkets in every corner, the type of room you’d see in teenage movies. Kagami sat on Marinette’s bed, watching as she held the kimono aloft for inspection.

“Thank you again for this, Marinette. I’m truly in your debt.”

“It’s no problem at all, Kagami. I’m just surprised you trust me enough to help with this.”

It would have been easy for Kagami to say that Marinette was her only remaining option. That the visit was simply because she had nowhere else to go, no one left to turn to. But she couldn’t ignore the fact that her feet had led her to the bakery before any other options came to mind.

“Of course I trust you. We’re friends, are we not?”

Marinette let out a little giggle. “We sure are. Just give me a little bit and I’ll have this fixed up for you.”

There was a simplistic kind of joy in watching Marinette work on something fashion related, Kagami thought. She was used to seeing her friend tripping over herself and her words, unable to perform normally when in a crowd. Here, there weren’t any signs of that trademark clumsiness. Marinette pulled thread with one hand and measured with the other, rolling herself to different spots at her desk like an electrical impulse firing through a neuron. It was a bit mesmerizing to watch. After a few minutes of this, Marinette stopped moving and mumbled something to herself. Kagami craned her head to the side to see Marinette hunched over her desk, searching through a bunch of baskets.

“Is something the matter?”

“It’s not a big deal, I just need a bit more thread to finish out your dress. We’ll have to go to the store to get some more.”

“Oh, I see. I apologize for inconveniencing you like this.”

“Don’t be silly, it’s just a short walk into town. Come on, let’s go!”

There wasn’t any time to get another word out before Marinette grabbed Kagami by the wrist, leading her down the stairs and onto the city streets. True to Marinette’s word, they were in and out of the fabric store in no time. With that being done so fast, Marinette suggested spending a little longer having fun in the city. Kagami wasn’t sure at first. She probably shouldn’t push her luck anymore than necessary. Then again, there were still a few hours until she actually had to meet her mother at the Métro. A few hours which she could happily spend in the company of Marinette. After all, her mother had given her no instructions for how to spend her time before the event, and even if she had, she was too far away to do anything about it. Kagami accepted, her steps becoming a bit lighter beside Marinette’s as they headed deeper into the city.

The more time the two spent together, the more Kagami found herself enamored by Marinette’s presence. It was the way she rambled on about the process of making baked goods, diving into every little process with striking detail. The way her eyelashes fluttered looking at the sights in the city as if she were seeing them for the first time. The little squeak of effort she made when trying to lick a stray speck of ice cream off her face. It was all too much to handle.

The girls eventually found themselves in the park, walking down a shaded path amongst the other many Parisians enjoying the atmosphere.

“We were lucky it’s such a nice day out,” Marinette said. “I love coming to the park in this kind of weather.”

“I agree. This is exactly the kind of climate I prefer when I’m training. My mother won’t show it, but I suspect she’s a fan of days like this as well.”

“Yeah, I can’t say I see her showing any excitement over a sunny day either. Do the two of you come out here a lot?”

“Yes. So much so that it honestly feels a bit weird not having a sword in my hand right now.”

“Well if you miss it that much…” Marinette broke off from Kagami’s side and wandered into a row of trees. She crouched down and began picking through a bunch of sticks on the ground, holding each up before picking two that were a decent size. She walked back over to Kagami and offered her one of the selections.

Kagami took it and raised an eyebrow. “What exactly are we doing with these?”

“Putting that training of yours to the test.” Marinette bent her knees and spread her feet apart, pointing her stick straight out. She twirled it a bit with a cheesy grin. “En garde, Kagami!”

Kagami couldn’t help but laugh at the sight. “You honestly think you can best me in fencing? That’s cute.”

“You’re cute!”

Kagami’s grip on her makeshift sword weakened. Had she heard that right?

“I–I mean, your thinking is cute! You thinking that you’ll beat me, is what I’m saying.”

Ah, that made more sense. It wasn’t the most effective trash talk she had heard, but it had gotten her fired up, so it did the job. She leapt in, slashing at Marinette with the same ferocity she’d show in a real match. There was no need to hold back, not when she knew Marinette was more capable with a weapon than she seemed. Most people might try to prioritize fun over victory in such a situation, but for Kagami, the fun would come from showing off the full extent of her skills.

This was all second nature to her. Fencing came as easily as walking in a straight line. There were steps to it, strategies to follow; everything happened for a reason, so there was no point in being unsure of herself. If there was one part of her mother’s strictness she could have faith in, it was the skill she had gained from so much practice.

She could deal with Marinette’s style of fencing easily enough. For every unorthodox thrust, she had a counter. For every hasty burst of aggression, she could dodge and parry. When it came to exchanging swords, she could manage, so the idea that the same couldn’t be said about casually hanging out was painfully annoying. After all, combat training couldn’t stop Marinette’s eyes from being so piercing. What was she supposed to do when Marinette whiffed a strike and put on a cute pout? How was she supposed to defend herself against a voice that sounded sugary sweet and always left her wanting to hear more?

Even with Adrien things hadn’t been this complicated for her. Back then, she had a clear target and knew exactly how to go about getting to it. Picturing being with him was as simple as picturing her fencing saber piercing an opponent’s shoulder. At least it had been at first. Once she actually became friends with Marinette, she had noticed her drive wavering just a bit. That was only natural wasn’t it? She knew Marinette had feelings for Adrien, it was obvious. The stuttering when she talked to him, her avoidance of eye contact, the toothy smile that usually came with a weird hand motion that barely resembled a wave; the list of evidence went on. Kagami could see it so easily because that’s what she knew a crush to be. Part of her had always wondered if being upfront and composed in similar situations made her seem less passionate by comparison. Even if it didn’t, she couldn’t dispute the fact that her behavior had put her where she was now.

The way she had been feeling the past few hours was how she wanted to feel around Adrien. That’s what she had been telling herself for months. But anything involving Marinette had a tendency to get complicated very quickly, and Kagami’s own feelings were no different. Nothing made sense when it came to the baker’s daughter. As much as she tried to ignore it at the start, she had been drawn in by Marinette’s aura. It had the same presence that her house did, an energy of pleasantness you couldn’t help but get wrapped up in. She hadn’t spoken to Marinette’s other friends very much, but from the little she had, it was obvious that same energy affected them as well. Marinette had the ability to turn on a light in others no matter who they were, a fact Kagami was becoming increasingly aware of with each passing day.

For better or worse, Marinette had fanned the fire inside her. She wasn’t sure exactly what she felt, but it was strong. Much too strong to ignore.

Kagami shook her head midbattle to regain her focus. Even with it being a small contest between friends, she wasn’t about to lose in her area of expertise. Marinette was doing well to keep up with her for the most part, but that was about to change. Kagami switched up her footing just before going for a horizontal slash, causing Marinette to jump backwards. She had good reflexes, but her lack of technical experience took away too much of that benefit. As soon as she jumped back, Kagami was already making a beeline for her landing spot. Marinette’s eyes went wide at the sudden burst of speed. She raised her stick in defense, but by that point it was already too late. Kagami thrust forward her own stick, softly jabbing Marinette’s shoulder right when her feet touched the ground. Marinette let out a yelp as she fell backwards, landing in the grass next to a row of bushes.

Kagami tossed her stick aside and rushed over to help. “Marinette, are you okay?”

“Oh yeah, definitely.” Marinette stood with Kagami’s help and brushed the dirt off her clothes with a chuckle. “Looks like you win.”

The girls collapsed on a bench nearby, fits of laughter poking out between frantic attempts to catch their breath. For something that started as a simple game, they looked as though they had run a marathon. If Kagami’s mother could see her now, she would no doubt give out one of her signature scolding sessions. She’d chastise her for treating combat like a game, and immediately schedule additional training days for her to boot. But her mother wasn’t there. No one would rip this feeling away from her. This feeling of chills racing down her arms that were more of a thrill than a disturbance. That pesky fire was acting up again, filling her body so much that she could feel the heat in the tips of her fingers. She placed her hands together on top of her lap to try and cool down.

It was a few minutes before the breath returned to either of them. Kagami’s ever running train of thought got brought to a halt with the sound of Marinette’s voice breaking the silence.

“So…how are you and Adrien doing?”

The question smacked her atop the head like she was a training dummy, unable to predict or defend. Even after thinking about that very subject for the past few minutes, being asked that still caught her off guard. How should she answer?

There was a time she wished Adrien would get his head on straight and focus for once. Focus on her. But that nagging mentality was slipping more every day. There was contentment in her relationship with him. A sense that she had exactly what she needed from it. They enjoyed each other’s company, they confided in one another, and there was mutual understanding that they would be there for each other if needed. It had taken a while for things to become what they were, but ultimately, she was satisfied. That same feeling was nowhere to be found with Marinette. There was only a hunger for more time, more moments like these where she felt lighter than ever. Like she wasn’t tied to her home or responsibilities anymore. Their days together always seemed to end so soon, leaving her desperate for the moon and sun to exchange places again so she could start the whole process over. But Marinette hadn’t asked about all that; she wanted to know about Adrien.

Kagami brushed her hair aside with a thumb, hiding her expression from Marinette. “He’s a good friend. I’m grateful to have him around.”

“Just a friend? Did…something happen between you guys?”

“No, we’re fine. But you may have the wrong idea of what we are to each other.”

“Oh, um, I see. That’s good. I’m happy you two are friends then.”

Kagami could have similarly asked Marinette how she and Adrien were doing. She’d like her two closest friends to also have a good friendship with one another, after all. But what would such a question open up? Would she start to gush about him? Would she have the same sort of answer about them just being friends? As much as she liked to call her feelings mixed up at the moment, she couldn’t deny that the idea of Marinette still being head over heels for Adrien made her feel like a heavy weight was being dropped on her chest.

No, she wouldn’t ask about their relationship. Good or bad, she didn’t want to face whatever answer was given to her. Staying silent was the easier option.

“Well, guess we should head back now,” Marinette said, shooting to her feet. “I’ll finish your dress and get out of your hair.”

The walk back to the bakery was a silent one with both girls drowning in the awkwardness of the previous conversation. Kagami felt the frustration bubbling up inside her like magma. She had never been one to hesitate when it came to going after what she wanted, so why was this any different? It probably had something to do why she was having trouble looking Marinette in the eyes lately. While they had been sitting on the bench, all she could do was stare straight ahead at the sights in the park. The cluster of pigeons bouncing along the ground, the repetitive flowing of water out of the central fountain, things she saw every time she came there. It was maddening knowing that those things were all she could focus on even when the sight she wanted to gaze at the most sat just inches to her left.

That was one of the parts she liked best about sitting in Marinette’s room. Watching her work from behind removed all the unease of being face to face. It was an odd feeling, having regressed from where she started to being so flustered nowadays. But that was all a part of evolution, she supposed. Just as her skill got better over years of practice, these feelings she was starting to acknowledge were blooming faster with each interaction. She figured Marinette didn’t know it, but her presence was cultivating them like a flower bed.

“Are you sure I can’t help you?” As someone who was constantly training and always in motion, Kagami hated sitting on her hands and leaving everything to her friend.

Marinette spun around in her chair with a smile on her face. “Oh, don’t even worry about it. It’s just a simple little repair, that’s all. Hopefully I can handle this for you and make up for being such a poor friend.”

Kagami stiffened at those words. Where had that come from? How could Marinette even entertain the idea that she was a bad friend?

“What would you have to make up for?”

“I guess…I haven’t been able to shake this feeling that you don’t like me very much.”

“Why would you think that?”

“It just seems like all I do is mess things up for you when I’m around. I called your first match with Adrien incorrectly, I was a nuisance at the Ladybug movie premiere, and I still feel bad about how I acted on Friendship Day. I wouldn’t be surprised if you didn’t like my company.”

“Well you’re wrong!” Kagami found herself standing and shouting, her face flushed. “I like you very much, Marinette.” Kagami realized her sudden outburst and cleared her throat, her posture shrinking a bit. “I just mean that I consider us very close. So you don’t need to have any worry.”

Marinette rubbed the back of her neck with a nervous smile. “That, um, makes me feel a lot better actually. Thank you, Kagami.”

Kagami nodded as Marinette rotated back to her desk. She quickly sat back down on the bed, grateful that Marinette’s back was turned to her. It gave her a chance to fan her face despite the fact that the burning she was feeling was definitely internal. If her legs weren’t wrapped around themselves right now, she’d have started kicking herself for blurting out her feelings like that. All that careful planning just for her to throw a fit anyway. How annoying.

“And there we go! All done now.” Marinette rolled away from her desk with the finished product in hand.

Kagami let out a thin breath of relief holding the mended kimono. She ran her thumb down the formerly torn side, the new stitching giving her the comfort she needed. It looked as good as new, and not even her mother would be able to tell the difference. She had gotten exactly what she wanted.

And yet – looking at the door out of Marinette’s room made her heart sink.

Walking out meant ending another fun day just to sit in a stuffy room with people she barely knew. She’d bow, show a smile, then move onto the next person for who knows how many hours. She hated the idea of having to make such a good impression with these strangers. For all she knew, they would forget her name and face the second the meeting ended. But her mother had demanded her attendance, so her frustrations didn’t amount to much. She simply returned the smile her friend gave her.

“I can’t thank you enough for this, Marinette.”

“Oh! Well, it was nothing, really. Anyone could’ve done it, no big deal.”

“That’s not true. You’re very skilled, you know. And I…wouldn’t have left it up to just anyone either.”

There may very well have been other ways for Kagami to save herself today, but having Marinette come to her aid was certainly a preferred turn of events. Even so, she felt a familiar worry biting at her heels just thinking of all she’d done in the past hours. It wasn’t like she regretted her choices for the day, but that didn’t stop her from fearing the repercussions of not meeting her mother’s demands. How long would it take to make up for the impromptu adventure? Was there enough time to get home and do everything she still had to do? Or would she have to go unprepared to meet her mother? No, that would be just as bad as not showing up at all. If she showed even a hint of not taking her mother’s orders seriously, she would regret it for a long while. But if she kept thinking like this, all that worry would devour her.

It was Marinette’s soft voice in her ear that snapped her out of the spiral.

“Is something the matter, Kagami?”

“I don’t have much time before mother’s meeting starts. I’m not sure I can get home and make myself presentable before I have to meet her at the Métro.”

“Oh, is that all? You’ll just have to get ready here then! I’ll even help you.”

Before Kagami could protest, Marinette was already pushing her behind the large changing screen in her room. The dynamic between them was growing more confusing by the hour. Kagami hadn’t had a friend like this before, which made gauging the exact nature of their relationship that much harder. Was this just the normal amount of kindness you showed to a friend? Or was Marinette going above and beyond specifically for her? And if she was, what was making her do that?

There was nothing really suggesting that Marinette felt all that strongly about her, especially after the talk they just had. If she thought Kagami didn’t like her, then she surely wasn’t harboring any deep feelings within, right? But there was always the possibility that she was, and Kagami just didn’t know. Kagami hated not knowing for sure.

Luckily her overthinking had let her get ready without too much conscious effort. The very idea of having to prepare herself with Marinette so close was not something she wanted to entertain. Her opinion would be the only one tonight with any real effect on her, so it was best to avoid that altogether. Kagami did her best to shoo away the tinges of red dotting her cheeks before stepping out.

Marinette’s eyes seemed brighter than before as she stood up to take in all of her friend’s new look. “Wow, Kagami, you look beautiful in that kimono.”

And just like that, the red was back in full force. A soft “thank you” was all she could get out past pinched lips.

“Oh, it looks like your makeup smudged a little. Hold still, I’ll fix it.”

Marinette reached up and cupped the sides of Kagami’s face, moving in to touch up her eyeliner. Kagami could feel the warmth of slow breaths brushing across her nose with Marinette so close. She thought that if Marinette held her any longer, she would melt under all the heat.

Then again, even if that happened, Marinette’s arms would be waiting for her. Suddenly melting didn’t seem like such a bad idea. Unfortunately for her, Marinette’s quick handiwork extended to her makeup skills, her fingernails grazing Kagami’s cheeks as she pulled away.

“Perfect! You’re all set, Kagami.”

“T–Thank you. I apologize for being such a handful.”

“Not even. You turned a slow day into a great time! I’m only sad it couldn’t last a little longer. Come on, I’ll walk you to the station.”

Kagami’s eyes were restless as she walked to the Métro, seeking out an excuse to spend more time with Marinette as if one would magically appear in front of her. She walked with her bag pulled close, desperate to feel the buzzing of a call that would tell her of canceled plans. No such luck.

Why was Paris never chaotic when she needed it to be? She didn’t necessarily want an akuma attack to happen, that was too extreme. Although getting to see Ladybug was always a treat. No, she just needed the city’s usual brand of irregularity to pop in like it always did. But today there were no random traffic jams, no city-wide celebrations to slow things down. There was nothing to stop them from walking down the station stairs and coming face to face with the metal train doors she had been dreading. The doors opened with a hiss, adding on to the already growing discomfort inside of her.

Kagami started to speak but held her tongue. Nothing she said would change things anyway. She started towards the train, but a shout from behind stopped her mid-step.

“Kagami, wait!”

There they were. The two words Kagami had been mentally begging to hear the entire way to the station. She spun around on her heels, staring right at Marinette. She held her breath unsure of what would be said next.

“Yes?”

“Um, I just wanted you to know that I had fun today. And that you shouldn’t feel bad about having to leave because I’ll be here when you get back. So, hang in there, okay? I already can’t wait to see you again!”

It wasn’t exactly what she’d wanted to hear, but anything coming from a face that beamed so brightly was enough to make her happy. At least for a little while.

“I feel the same. See you soon, Marinette.”

Kagami put a hand up as she backed onto the train. Marinette returned the gesture with the motion of an actual wave. She soon disappeared in the swarm of people rushing their way onto the train. There was nothing Kagami wanted more than to push past everyone else and latch onto her friend again, but knowing the consequences of that decision kept her motionless. The harsh truth she had been fighting against for so long swallowed her whole as the train doors closed.

At the end of the day, it wasn’t about what she wanted.

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Marinette walked home with less of a spring in her step than usual. She’d had a good day all things considered, but her feet felt a bit heavier after saying goodbye to her friend and beginning the walk back. She looked down at her purse as she felt it open from the inside, revealing Tikki, her mouth in a pout.

“Kagami didn’t look very happy when she left, did she?” Tikki asked.

Marinette sighed and lightly tapped her kwami on the head with a finger. “No, she didn’t. I hope it wasn’t because I did a bad job fixing her dress.”

“I’m sure that wasn’t it. It looked really pretty when you were done.”

“Yeah, she did. Er, it did, I mean. The dress. A–Anyway, it might have something to do about being around her mom and all those strangers.”

“Will it really be that bad for her?”

“I can’t say for sure. I know things are tense between her and her mom, but even today she seemed a little off. I hope things aren’t actually getting worse between them.” Marinette suddenly stopped in her tracks with a gasp. “Oh no, Tikki…you don’t think she could be akumatized again, do you?”

“I don’t think so. From what I heard and saw today, she didn’t seem quite that upset. I’m sure she’ll be okay.”

“Still, I can’t help but worry. Even if she doesn’t lose her cool, what about her mom? If she notices my work on the dress, she could flip out on Kagami and then be the perfect target for an akuma! Oh, maybe I should transform and follow the train just in case.”

“Relax, Marinette. It sounded like Kagami and her mother are going somewhere pretty far away, so I doubt Hawkmoth would even notice their emotions all the way out there.”

“I…guess you’re right.”

Marinette let out a long breath and started walking once more. She was grateful to have someone like Tikki by her side to keep her in check. Still, her worry wouldn’t just disappear anytime soon. Hopefully the event went quickly so she could call and check on Kagami. Then she’d be able to sleep easy at least.

“You sure were in a hurry to be by Kagami’s side again,” Tikki said. “Maybe someone wants to take advantage of the fact that Ladybug doesn’t get all tongue tied around her.”

“Hey, I did just fine today as myself, didn’t I?”

Tikki giggled. “Sure, if you don’t count calling her cute to her face.”

“Oh, why did you have to remind me of that, Tikki?”

That had been the one part of the day where she felt strange around Kagami. Usually their time together resulted in bubbly, bouncy feelings that had her grinning from ear to ear. Today was no different, except for that one brief moment in the park. Stating that Kagami was cute wasn’t anything new to Marinette, but it was the reaction the comment caused that had thrown her off balance. Kagami’s normally pale face gained a stripe of red right through the middle, rising along her nose and ending on the curves of her cheeks. It hadn’t just been cute; it was adorable.

Marinette was used to verbally jumping ship on most things she said, especially when she was nervous. But today’s slip-up felt a little different. She had barely been able to clarify her comment over the sound of her heart thumping in her ears. It was the same kind of feeling she used to get when talking to Adrien.

Marinette smacked her cheeks lightly. What was happening to her? Things had gone from weird to manageable to good and now back to weird. Well, not as weird as when she and Kagami first met, but still odd enough to notice. In the past few weeks, she had focused on building a more platonic relationship with Adrien, and that was going surprisingly well. She had also tried the same strategy with Luka, which was proving to be just as effective considering his easygoing attitude towards most things. It was definitely a difficult switch to make mentally, considering how strongly she cared for them both, but something inside had made her stop short in her pursuit. That same instinct was clueless when it came to how she saw Kagami.

And on the topic of Kagami, if she wasn’t interested in Adrien anymore, what had changed? Was it the same thing that she felt changing in herself? It was beginning to feel like the more she pulled back from Adrien and Luka, the more she found herself drawn to Kagami. Not just in a way that craved quality girl time, but in a way that made the rest of the world fuzzy when they were together. She didn’t feel this way around Alya, her best friend, or even any of the other girls like Rose or Juleka or Alix or Mylène.

It was all that confusion which really begged the question; what exactly was it that she wanted?

“Marinette!”

Marinette whipped around at the sound of her name being shouted into the night. Standing under a streetlight several yards away was Kagami, wide-eyed and out of breath. Her white kimono caught the light from overhead, making it look like she was glowing.

Marinette closed Tikki back in her purse and ran over to where her friend stood. “Kagami? What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be at that gathering?”

“I couldn’t go.”

“What? Why not?”

Kagami hung her head low, inching towards Marinette with steps so small her feet might as well have been sliding across the pavement. “Because…I want to be here with you.”

“To be here with me? But why – ”

“I couldn’t leave because I don’t want anyone else but you.”

Marinette bit her lower lip, stopping herself from making some awkward noise in response to Kagami’s confession, but also to prove she wasn’t dreaming the scene in front of her. The words between the two of them were ones she had dreamt of hearing for a long time, but not from the person standing in front of her. She had expected these words to come gently and sweep her off her feet, but instead they threated to knock her over where she stood. Kagami wanted her. She didn’t want anyone else but her. Just the echo of the words in Marinette’s mind were enough to make her legs shake.

“Thinking of you…spending time with you…it makes me so crazy I can’t stand it!” Kagami’s fingers gripped her chest so tightly it looked like she might tear her own heart out with brute strength. “I’m tired of pushing all of that down, but…I don’t know where to go from here.”

Marinette’s hand seemed to move on its own, wrapping her fingers around Kagami’s trembling ones. The surge of warmth that followed helped prove this was real. Kagami finally looked up, meeting a gaze as watery as her own.

“Well…we can figure it out together.”

Marinette lowered Kagami’s hand and held her palm, sliding closer to touch shoulders with her. Her head didn’t feel so cluttered with Kagami beside her now. It was all starting to make sense. She almost had to stop herself from giggling just thinking about how earnestly Kagami had said all of those things to her. At the very least, she knew that she would get an earful about this from Tikki later on. But this new development was worth a little embarrassment.

“So, what are you going to tell your mom?” Marinette asked.

“Well, unfortunately there was an akuma attack just before I could leave the city,” Kagami said with a shrug. “I had no choice but to stay here where it was safe.”

“Oh, of course,” Marinette said, her hand covering her mouth dramatically. “And where would a safer place be than my family’s bakery? Staying with us was the only option really.”

The giggles came fast to both girls as they walked with linked arms down the street. There was a lot to figure out, and their joint decision tonight would surely lead to some consequences down the road, but for tonight they could forget about all that. The telltale fuzziness was coming back to Marinette with Kagami so close, blocking everything else out except for the stunning girl in front of her. Taking her in all dressed up was almost enough to knock her off her feet. Fortunately, Kagami was hanging onto her so tightly that she didn’t have to worry about that. Walking beside her now brought a very different rhythm than Marinette was used to, but it was one that she was wanted to embrace more than anything.

[sparkkeyper]

And They Flew Anyway

Summary: It’s 1969 and Crowley and Aziraphale sit in a pub watching humans make their own history.

---------------------------

It was a raucous night in the London pub.

Indeed, Aziraphale had chosen this one specifically because of the excitement pouring out of it. He didn't have a television in his bookshop and if he was going to experience what was certainly a significant moment in Earth's history, he wanted some suitably celebratory surroundings. His search for the prefect venue (which consisted chiefly of picking a district of bars and restaurants and walking the streets with all his senses extended until he'd found the happiest, liveliest pub with a TV set) had resulted in a pub that would have been rather spacious if it wasn't packed to the brim with Sunday night patrons. A football match had apparently concluded not long before, and a sizable group of young people in the corner were drunk and rowdy in celebration of whatever team had won.

Football notwithstanding, there was a swarm of people crowding up towards the bar where the television was located. Aziraphale's eyes landed on the back of one head in particular, the haircut not so different from when he had last seen it in a Bentley in Soho two years prior. "Crowley, is that you?"

The demon turned, face spilt in an enormous smile. "ANGELLLL!" he crowed loud enough to be heard on the street outside, and Aziraphale winced, as though that in itself was enough to summon Gabriel. But Crowley was already bounding towards him, stumbling gracelessly around the people in his way and beaming like a bonfire. "Fancy runnin'in'ina you 'ere! Wonderful, marv'lous, just in time!"

Aziraphale couldn't help but smile back at the enthusiasm as Crowley clapped him excitedly on the shoulder. "And just how drunk are you, exactly?"

"Oh, unbelievably drunk," Crowley confirmed gleefully. "Hideously drunk. Only way to be, night like tonight! Least until the main event. Got your work cut out for you if you wanna catch me up. C'mon! C'mon, got good seats, right by the telly!" He flung an arm around the angel's shoulders and Aziraphale let himself be dragged over to the bar, not the least bit put out by this unexpected company.

The counter was packed full of people, but two barstools and a few cubic feet of space seemed to grow out of nowhere for them to sit comfortably. "Oi, Rico!" Crowley called over to the bartender. "One for my mate, same as me! Put it on mine!"

"Oh! Well thank you. What are you drinking?"

"I have *no* idea." The demon knocked back another mouthful of whatever was in his glass.

Aziraphale accepted the drink - some pinkish cocktail - from the bartender graciously and bit back a protest against 'my mate', figuring Crowley was drunk to the point that admonishment wouldn't stick. "So. Red letter day for downstairs?"

Crowley pulled a face and waved the notion off, swaying unsteadily on the stool. "Nahhhh. Nothin' t'do with it. Red letter day for...monkeys! Humans! Mad li'l tail-less monkeys, they are." He gestured at the television set where a pair of news anchors were discussing details. "They're tras'iting...tra'smit...they're sending the broadcast all the way from America. Got Cronkite and everything."

That was indeed true, Aziraphale saw. The conversation in the pub hadn't decreased a bit in volume, but he could tell that it was shifting more and more away from football and towards the news programme.

"Angel, d'you know how long I've been waiting for this? Six centuries. No wait..." The demon paused to count on his fingers. "- ty. Sixty centuries. Ever since Adam looked up at th' night sky and went 'wha's tha' thing, then?' I've been waiting for th' humans to get to see it up close." He raised his arms to encompass the ceiling, sloshing half his drink from the glass and nearly smacking the man next to him in the face. "She put all that beautiful, magnificent stuff waaaay up 'n the sky, way up where they could never touch, and stuck 'em down on th' ground. Gave 'em feet 'n legs 'n stuck 'em down in the mud and said 'here, you can look at it I guess but tha's it'. And humans, they looked up at the stars and said 'that's bollocks, d'You know how bollocks that is?' and got to work mapping th' sky 'n figuring out rotations and then! And then!" He grabbed the angel's shoulder hard enough to bruise. "They built a set of wings out of a metal capsule and a bunch of maths and wires and they called it Eagle! I mean, mostly I think it's the Americans being ostentatious but come on! Eagle! And they said 'nuts to Your limitations' and they went and flew anyway!"

His eyes were shining, and Aziraphale thought he had never seen Crowley so proud. "They do have incredible ingenuity."

"Blessed right, they do! W'as the time?"

"Nearly eight, I think."

"Blimey, it's soon. Hang on, I wanna 'ppreciate this." The demon ducked his head, hands gripping the counter. He let out a pained grunt and an obscenely undignified belch as he forced the alcohol from his system, and Aziraphale rolled his eyes just a little. Crowley scrunched up his face in disgust and washed down the taste of suddenly-not-drunk with another sip of the cocktail.

"They made this leap so quickly," Aziraphale observed as the anchormen began to look more flustered. "It's only been, what 70 years or so since they started toying with motorised flight?"

"Tenacious, this lot." Crowley side-eyed him. "You didn't have anything to do with this, did you?"

"No," Aziraphale answered truthfully. "In fact I was specifically told to leave the research alone."

"Same."

The whole pub was focusing on the television now as radio broadcasts came in. Radio signals from space - Aziraphale could hardly believe it. If someone had told him a hundred years ago that humans would get to this point so quickly he'd have laughed in their face.

"I was at the launch, you know." Quiet awe coloured Crowley's voice as he watched the screen. "Hopped a flight to Cape Kennedy earlier this week. Oh, it was brilliant, angel; you should've seen it."

The broadcast switched away from the anchors to an indoor studio somewhere. A model lander was being lowered slowly, awkwardly onto a model set, with the caption "CBS News Simulation" beneath it. But with the accompanying radio transmissions, it didn't take too much human imagination to make the visuals match the audio.

The murmuring of the patrons around them died slowly with each minute that passed until the entire room was silent, watching the screen. Even the drunkest of the football fans recognized the weight of what was happening.

"Four forward," crackled the radio signal. "Four forward, drifting to the right a little. Okay, down a half."

Aziraphale risked a glance beside him. Crowley was wholly focused on the television set, stock still and not breathing. In fact, the angel would have bet money that he hadn't remembered to breathe in several minutes. His glasses had slipped a bit down his nose so he could see the broadcast unhindered, and his yellow eyes were wide, waiting, desperate: hope and joy and fear raging behind them in a maelstrom.

"Contact light. Okay, engine stop. ACA out of detent. Mode control, both auto. Descent engine command override off. Engine arm off. 413 is in."

"Man on the moon," one of the news anchors breathed, but the pub held its collective breath. It had to be official. If anything went wrong at the last second...

There was were a few moments of radio static.

"We copy you down, Eagle."

"Houston... Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed."

"Roger, Tranquility. We copy you on the ground-"

The pub exploded, drowning out the rest of the broadcast. Crowley was on his feet, whooping and hollering with the loudest of them. Aziraphale applauded enthusiastically and clacked his glass against the beer of the gentleman beside him. "Well done, humanity! Well done indeed!"

Crowley was jumping up and down and screaming himself hoarse, hugging whatever stranger happened to get close to him and being hugged by other random strangers in return. One of the drunker football girls kissed him full on the mouth and he didn't seem to care in the least, going right back to his screaming as she moved on to kiss the bloke beside him.

Aziraphale couldn't help but bask for a moment in the happiness radiating from the humans around him. It wasn't hard to find excited people if you knew where to look, but it was rare that one found so many people all deliriously excited about the same thing. He could feel a sizable portion of Europe celebrating tonight.

Crowley grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him enthusiastically, breaking him out of his reverie. Aziraphale thought he glimpsed tears glinting from the corners of the sunglasses. "They did it! Angel, they did it!"

"I can see that! It's very hard to miss."

"Sixty centuries and they made it! Take that, You great cosmic killjoy!" This last was hollered at the ceiling but Aziraphale couldn't bring himself to be cross about it, not with so much happiness humming through the air. "Rico! New round for me and him! Ah Heaven, round for the bar!"

"You're cut off, mate!" the bartender yelled back. But a snap wiped his expression clean as that particular thought was miracled out of his head.

"I," Crowley asserted, downing the rest of his cocktail, "am fresh and ready to go. This party's just getting started. Gonna join me, angel? Betcha the news coverage'll go on for ages."

Aziraphale took the offered refill, already tipsy off the joy coming from both the humans and Crowley. "Oh, why not?"

[wiypt-writes]

Riding High

Ch25: Keep it Simple

Chapter Summary: The events of Boston behind them, Frank, Fliss and Mary look forward to Christmas…and Frank has a big surprise planned. 

Chapter Warnings: Bad Language words. Smut…NSFW and NO UNDER 18s!!!

Chapter Pairings:  Frank Adler x OFC Fliss Gallagher

 A/N: So here it is, the last in the series Riding High. Thank you to everyone who has helped and re-blogged and commended in any way. Do not fear, Frank and Fliss will be back in the next instalment of their adventure Riding On

Disclaimer: This is a pure work of fiction and classified as 18+. Please respect this and do not read if you are underage. I do not own any characters in this series bar Fliss Gallagher and the other OCs. By reading beyond this point you understand and accept the terms of this disclaimer.

Riding High Masterlist // Main Masterlist

Chapter 24

If you should ever leave me, thought life would still go on, believe me, the world could show nothing to me, so what good would living do me? God only knows what I’d be without you…

"Mary can you just hold on a second, please!" Frank sighed, grabbing the back of her coat to stop her shooting off into the crowd that streamed down the busy Manhattan sidewalk. "But Frank!" she turned and looked at him, her woollen hat jammed down over her ears "I just wanna see the stall!" "Yeah but you can't just run off!" He grumbled and beside him Fliss gave a chuckle. He turned to look at her "who gets so excited about damned wooden tree ornaments?" "Oh hush!" Fliss leaned up to give him a pack, her cold nose brushing his. In retaliation he pulled the front of her baby blue sparkly bobble hat down over her eye and she shoved him in the chest, laughing. "Fuck you!" "Chance would be a fine thing" he grumbled, taking Fliss’ hand as they headed after Mary. "Awww is that why you're grumpy?" Fliss grinned as they walked "Coz you haven't had any in nearly 3 days?" Frank pouted "No." "Liar..." "Ok, look...Frankie has needs..." he whined "I completely over looked the fact hanging out with an 8 year old in the room would be a cock block." "Always the shower..." Fliss teased and Frank snorted. "Yeah, right. Can you imagine? I give it 3 minutes before she came looking for us." "We go home tomorrow. I'll make it up to you then." Fliss grinned and he sighed. "What?" She laughed. "It’s just...you look so hot in all this winter clothing." Frank grinned. And he meant it. Seeing her wrapped up in a coat, hat and scarf had made her look all cute and cozy...and it had done inappropriate things to him for some odd reason. "Hmmm, you know most men get more turned on the less clothing their girls wear." She teased and he grinned. "Yeah, well, I'm not most men" She gave him a smile which he returned with a soft kiss as they stopped by the stall where Mary instantly dived into looking at the array of ornaments. After a few moments of looking she handed Frank one in the shape of a reindeer stag, and a doe for him and Fliss before selecting a robin for herself. "I think they're so pretty." She looked at the bird in her hand "I saw one at Evelyn's over thanks giving." "Ever heard the saying robins appear when loved ones are near?" Fliss asked. Mary shook her head. "No" "Well, I don't know about here but certainly in England we say it because there is an old belief by some people that a robin is a message from heaven, that a loved one is watching over you." "Do you believe that?" Mary looked at Fliss. Fliss hesitated "Well when my Dad's dad died I was 20 and I remember getting up the morning after he died and there was a robin on the fence of the back garden. Bill told me it was my granddad Alex come to check I was ok." "Do you think it was? Really I mean?" "I dunno sweetheart." Fliss sighed "I'd like it to be true..." "Then you should believe it was." Mary said, looking at her "Because isn't that what faith is? Believing something you want to be true?" Fliss looked at Frank who smiled and gave a small shake of his head. She turned back to Mary, smiling softly as she dropped a hand to the back of her head. This kid was unbelievably wise, but with such an innocence behind it all. "Yeah, I suppose it is." Fliss nodded. "Do you think the robin I saw could have been my mom?" She asked, her eyes wide. Frank at that point stepped in, carefully picking an answer that was ambiguous so as not to say yes, but also not dampening her spirits. "If your mom could I'm sure she would come and see you, make sure you're ok." Mary gave a nod, before she turned back to the stall, her attention back on the ornaments. "We need a dog for Thor, and a cat for Fred oh...and a pony for Monty." "What about Cap and Heidi?" Fliss asked, moving to inspect the selection of decorations. "Oh, yeah!" "This is gonna bankrupt me." Frank grumbled, his hands on Fliss' hips, chin resting on her shoulder as he observed the two of them. "Scrooge" Fliss shot back with a smile "Do you think Verity and Bill will like this one?" Mary held up a snowman. "Absolutely" Fliss nodded. "And can I get one for Evelyn?" She asked, selecting a snowflake. Despite the fact that they were now well into the fifty buck range for fucking tree decorations, Frank couldn't help but want to smile at Marys face. She was so thoughtful, the purity behind it all was, as usual, humbling. So he nodded "Sure she will appreciate it." He smiled. He moved to lift her up so she could hand the ones they had picked over to the guy behind the counter who asked Mary what names she wanted on each one. As she told him, he allowed her to sit up on the edge of the little surface, held in place by Frank to watch as he burnt the names into each ornament before he bagged them up and she took them with a thanks. "Our first family tree stuff!" Mary grinned and Fliss smiled, bending down to give her a hug. They set back off towards the hotel, stopping by a burger joint for dinner before they dumped their bags and returned back out for their final evening in the City. Frank had loved every second of their trip, and so had Mary and Fliss. Seeing Mary's reaction to snow and the Christmas lights had been amazing, along with all the bands on street corners, people walking around dressed up. It was magical and he wasn't afraid to let his inner child come out to play either, as Fliss had just found out. "Whose idea was this again?" He asked as Mary was bouncing up and down in the queue. "Yours!" Fliss scoffed as he took Mary's hand in his right "I seem to recall the very visible horror on your face yesterday when I told you I'd never done it before..." "That’s because it's an abomination that someone who's 34 has never been ice skating." "I was a professional athlete." She shrugged "I was banned from doing anything deemed dangerous " Frank looked at her "What do they consider more dangerous than flying a half tonne animal almost 2 meters into the air?" "Bungee jumping, sky diving, jet skiing, water skiing, ice skating.." Fliss shrugged "just to name 5" Frank shook his head as the queue shuffled forward a little. It wasn't too long now, luckily they had timed it right by arriving 20 minutes or so before the next lot of General Admission to the famous Rockefeller rink opened so there weren't too many people ahead. After another 10 minutes they got to the front and Frank nudged Fliss out of the way as she tried to pay. She scowled at him and he simply rolled his eyes and handed his card over. It wasn't cheap but then, he was in New York. What was? Together they headed onto the ice. Frank, having done it a few times as a kid found his legs fairly quickly and didn't stop himself laughing as Mary's completely went from under her and she landed with a thump on her ass. "Here..." he chuckled, offering her his hand. He pulled her up and moved her in front of him. "Give me your hands..." Mary extended her arms to the side and he took her mitten clad hands in his, holding her in front of him. Fliss was moving tentatively behind him, using the sides for support a little. "Ok slide your right foot forward, like on your roller skates..." Frank said. Mary did as she was told "now left...right...left...right..." He continued his chanting and glanced over his shoulder to see Fliss was concentrating on her feet, her tongue poking out slightly. "You good?" "Yup." She said, raising her hand to give him a thumbs up before she skidded slightly and went down in a tangle of limbs. Letting out a laugh he gently pivoted Mary so she could hold onto the side and offered Fliss his hand. Pulling her up into his arms he held her steady for a moment whilst her laughing subsided. He watched her for a second, her face creasing up into those adorable dimples, eyes crinkled so much they were almost shut and her shoulders shook with the force of her giggles. "I fuckin' love you..." he grinned and she smiled at him. "Back at ya sailor" After another few laps Mary and Fliss had managed to get the hand of it which meant Frank could leave them a little bit as he went off for what he called a proper skate. The girls watched calling him a show off as he crossed his feet and turned, skating backwards a little. Both of them debated sabotaging him and tripping him up but they decided not to, instead they simply pretended they didn't know him, resulting in him grabbing Fliss from behind just beneath the large tree, and spinning her round to face him. "Can I help you?" She teased and he gave a snort. "Yeah, you can... Mary?" He called to her where she was trying to perfect a turn and failing as she almost stumbled again. She looked up and headed over. "Can you take our photo?" "Only if you're gonna kiss..." she replied, making smooching noises. "Well we can’t disappoint her..." Frank shrugged and Fliss grinned, her smile turning into a shriek as Frank quickly grabbed her hips before he took one hand, keeping the other round her back and dipped her so she was bending backwards, planting a sloppy kiss on her lips. She laughed against his mouth as he gave her a wink, before kissing her a little deeper and then setting her upright, his eyes boring into hers which were shining in the Christmas lights surrounding the rink. "Oh that was great!" Mary howled and he turned to face her as she handed his phone back. Frank checked the photo and had to smile, it was a dammed good shot. He showed it to Fliss and she beamed. "A framer?" She asked. "A framer." He agreed. It took them ages to get Mary to finally leave the rink. Even a bribe of hot chocolate, marshmallows and cookies wasn't doing it. Eventually Frank put his foot down and told her it was time to go as it was almost 9pm and they still had that tree to go see before they headed to Central Park for one last walk in the lights. After handing their skates back and retrieving their belongings from the lockers they followed the path to the tree. As they round the corner Mary gasped. "It's huge!" She turned to look at Frank and Fliss, her eyes wide "Oh my God!" Frank smiled kissed Fliss' cheek as Mary walked slightly ahead of them down the walkway that was flanked with smaller trees and the famous lit up trumpeting angels . As they caught her up he slipped his spare hand in his pocket, his fingers curling round the small, leather box inside. The damned thing had been burning a hole in his pocket since he had bought it in Boston just after Thanksgiving. Fliss, Verity and Bill had all stayed for a very pleasant week rounded off with a damned good proper Thanksgiving dinner and the three of them had flown home on the Friday, as Fliss was starting to stress about her business. He and Mary followed on the Sunday after she had been given the all clear to fly after a week’s check up at the Hospital. On his spare afternoon, he'd taken a trip into the city with one goal, and it had been surprisingly easy. The first jeweller he has walked into had a perfect ring, and despite the fact he had visited several others none of them caught his eye like that. So he had gone back and asked the assistant for a closer look. It wasn't a huge rock, white gold and emerald cut with in a pave setting, but everything about it had screamed Fliss. It was delicate and feminine but with a wonderful sparkle just like her. He knew that sounded so lame when he had told the assistant but she has just smiled and told him that if he had that much conviction, it must be right. He had been lost when she asked him what size, but in a sudden inspiration he had remembered the Pandora ring he had bought her when he had gotten his first new pay check as supervisor. He mentioned this to the assistant who beamed and said she could easily size it from that by using a simple conversion chart and told him to come back the following day. His sudden good spirit had fallen as he explained he couldn't do and asked her to see if here was anything she could do, even contemplating taking it and having it sizes back in Florida. But, after the shitty run of events over the last week, his luck was in after she returned 5 minutes later with a slip of paper, informing him it would be ready by the end of the day. When he had told Mary he was going to ask Fliss to marry him, she'd been so excited. She'd asked when, where and when he said he didn’t know she'd given him the most exasperated look on the planet. The only one of his friend who he had confided in, Greg, hadn’t been much help either, simply telling him to do it in a way that meant something to them both. Simply put he just hadn't a fucking clue. He had agonized over how to pop the question. On the boat? Or maybe a sunset on their favourite spot at St Pete's beach? Did he wait for New York? As such, Frank had taken to carrying the ring around with him, waiting for that moment when it felt right. So far it hadn't happened at home and as it stood New York wasn’t faring any better. He had thought about it at the top of the Empire state, but it had been too busy. Then there was a moment in Central Park after they had been snowman building that might have worked...until Fliss had nailed him in the face with a snowball. So they'd had a snowball fight instead. Then when walking over Brooklyn Bridge, the skyline behind them… then when they walked back to the Hotel after seeing the Lion King on Broadway, going the long way round to see the display in Macy's window all lit up...and then that moment before when Mary had taken a picture of them kissing under the tree on the ice rink... but none of it felt right. It didn't feel like the moment for them. But now something stirred in his gut. This could be it. It wasn't too busy, the place was gorgeous, right in front of the tree Fliss had been so desperate to see... Ok Adler, you can do this. Taking a deep breath he pulled the box from his pocket when he heard Mary give a squeal. "Oh...wow! Frankie look..." Fliss' voice was a whisper and she nudged him, pointing to the base of the tree. He followed her gaze to see a blonde haired man down on one knee, presenting a ring to a dark haired woman who had her hands clasped over her mouth. Frank slipped the box back into his pocket and stared at the man as he placed the ring onto his now fiancés finger and did his best to look like he cared when Fliss let out a soft "Awwww" The man looked around excitedly, his eyes falling on the three of them before he asked Frank if he or Fliss would mind taking a photo for them. "Course not buddy, congratulations." Frank smiled. Fucking prick... ***** "It was AMAZING!" Mary gushed to Verity as they walked to the car, Fliss' parents having come to pick them up from the airport. "we saw so much stuff but nowhere near all of it but Frank said we could go back next year in the summer maybe and do a bit more." "Looks like someone else had a good time too." Bill smiled, nodding to Fliss who let out a loud yawn. Frank chuckled "She was up all night, I told her not to have more food so close to bed time." "I wanted a hot dog and a pretzel." Fliss mumbled, "Besides, it's nothing to do with the food...we did a lot of walking." Bill gave a snort "You ride horses for a living, you should be fit enough to walk round New York" "I probably skated about 4 miles too..." Fliss said looking at Mary "Someone wouldn't come off the ice rink" "You been sleeping ok otherwise?" Verity looked at her "I'm fine mum." She smiled "No anxiety?" 'V, she said she's fine so leave it" Bill said gently and Fliss shot a grateful look at her dad. She knew her mum was only concerned but she was fed up of assuring people she was fine. After the attack from John she had suffered a bout of delayed shock which had manifested in a few panic attacks, nightmares, and restlessness at night and on one occasion nausea. Luckily Frank had been brilliant at keeping calm when she had an episode, helping her work through it and the last incident she had suffered had been over a week ago. Once they were all in the car, Frank took the passenger seat after Verity offered it to him, Mary continued to chat all the drive home about New York, Fliss and Frank butting in here and there. They arrived home little after 30 minutes later and Fliss headed up the steps with Mary, Thor almost sending the pair of them flying when they opened the door. "Oh puppy I missed you!" Fliss smiled as she gave him plenty of attention and he kept licking her face, whining and emitting quiet little barks. "Did you miss me? Did you?" "Yerress" Frank did his best Scooby Doo impression as he walked past and Fliss let out a laugh, as she stood up and headed into the living room behind Mary, bumping into the girl as she stopped dead, giving a squeal as she saw the Christmas Tree in the corner. "Mum, Dad?" Fliss called, smiling "I take it you did this?" Frank appeared behind them both, smiling as Fliss and Mary exchanged a glance before they all turned to Bill and Verity who were stood in the doorway. "Well we know how much you like to get your tree up as early as you can and, well we were picking one up for ourselves so we got you one. You don’t mind do you?" Verity, looked at Fliss then Frank. "No, of course not!" Fliss grinned. "Saved me a job." Frank nodded "Thanks guys." "Can we decorate it tonight?" Mary asked "Pleeeeeeeaaaasssseee Frank!" Frank glanced at his watch before giving a sigh, he knew she wouldn't go to bed if he said no anyway so what was the point? Plus she was at the University tomorrow which didn’t start until 10 so... "Ok, but if you so much as grumble tomorrow morning when I get you up you'll be in deep trouble." He looked at her sternly as she stooped to pick Fred up. "Cross my heart, hope to die, we all know Fred's got one eye..." she chanted off, nodding. "We brought your box of decorations from the annex." Verity smiled at Fliss, nodding to the box on the floor. "We thought you could pick what you want to keep now you're combining."

“Speaking of decorations…” Frank said, looking at Mary.

“Oh…yeah…hang on…” She said, running to the sofa where she had dumped her little pink rucksack. She fished out the paper bag they had gotten from the stall and found the Snowman they had bought. With a smile she handed it to Verity who looked down at it, her face curling into a smile as her eyes started to prick with tears.

“Fliss said you wouldn’t mind the names Mary wanted on them.” Frank said, watching carefully.

“Of course we don’t mind!” Bill smiled, picking Mary up to give her a hug “We are Nanny V and Poppa B ain’t that right kiddo?” “Yep!” she grinned, hugging him.

“We’ll save it to hang tomorrow when you come over after school.” Verity said as Bill set Mary on the floor and she hugged her tightly.

After a little more chat Verity and Bill left and Frank instructed Mary to change into her Pyjamas before they did the tree. Deciding that was a good idea, Fliss did the same and before long they were all in the living room. Fliss and Mary going through the boxes of decorations, Frank wrestling with the tangle of fairy lights. How they managed to get so fucking knotted up after simply being in a box for 12 months was beyond him.

He had just about managed it when Thor came over to inspect what he was doing, and dropped straight onto his back on top of the string.

“Thor…get out of it…” he grumbled, pushing the dog who simply rolled over, taking half the lights with him, tangling them round his legs and his tails. “Jesus Christ…stand still…for fucks sake…”

Thinking this was a huge game, Thor started to bounce around, barking, and Frank shook his head. “Fliss, sort this mutt out….” Fliss gave a laugh and dropped off the sofa, calling Thor to her. He sat down, allowing Frank to remove the lights before he stood up, shaking them out. Together the 3 of them wound them round the tree before they made a start on the decorations.

“Frank got me this for my first Christmas.” Mary said, hanging a red bauble which had her name on it. “The glitter has all fallen off it now.”

“We can add more if you want.” Fliss looked at her and Mary shrugged.

“I kinda like it.” It didn’t take them long, and their wooden trinkets from New York were the last ones they hung, Mary ensuring they took pride of place. Frank then lifted her up so she could place the star at the top before they stood back.

“Ready for the big turn on?” Frank asked, grinning. Mary and Fliss cheered and began a countdown from 5. When they hit 1 Frank hit the switch and the lights on the tree came to life. He stepped back, looking up at it, his arm curling round Fliss’ shoulder, his other dropping to Mary as she grinned.

“Best Tree ever.” she smiled.

“Yeah, and now it’s time for the best bed ever…” he looked at her.

“Seriously?” Mary complained

“No moaning, remember?” Frank instructed her. “That was in the morning.”

“Well I just extended it to now as well.” he said, shrugging “Because I can, so get…” “Fine, fine, I’m going…” she grumbled. “Night Fliss.” “Night sweetie.” Fliss dropped a kiss to her head before Mary shot a filthy look at Frank who met her with a passive one of his own.

“I’ll be in in a second.” Frank shot after her, watching as she headed down to the hallway. He turned back to Fliss who was watching the tree, a smile on her face.

“Not exactly up to Macey’s standards…” Frank chuckled and she shook her head.

“I love it.” “It looks like an Elf threw up on it.”

“All trees should be like that.” Fliss shrugged, before she gave his cheek a peck. “Now, you go sort Mary and I’ll get us both a beer.” “Actually…” he said, looping his arms round her waist. “I believe there was something else you promised me tonight…” “Oh, yes, of course, Frankie has needs…” she replied with an almost uncanny impersonation, which made him snort. “Does that mean no beer?”

“No beer.” “You want me to wait in bed.” “Yes I do.” he nodded “Go, I’ll let Thor out and lock up.”

Grinning she accepted his kiss and smiled as she turned around, casting him a quite frankly sinful look over her shoulder which almost had him hard right there and then. Not wanting to wait a moment longer he sorted the dog, locked the door, poked his head into Mary’s room to wish her goodnight, and headed into their bedroom. Fliss was hanging her jeans in the closet after having simply discarded them on the bed earlier, and wasting no time Frank pulled off his T-shirt, tossing it to the side before he stepped up behind her, spinning her round to face him. He pressed his lips to hers, deepening the kiss as he slid his hands down to cup her ass and she smirked into the kiss.

“I like your ass.” he muttered. “I like yours too” she said back, “And your arms”

He laughed and pulled back to look down at her as her fingers trailed up his biceps. “My arms?”

“Yeah, your big, strong arms, and your big, broad shoulders and your stupid, handsome face…” she muttered, pulling him back down to her. In between the dizzying kisses Frank steered her towards the bed, and as her legs collided with the edge he stopped to gently trail kisses across her bare collar bone. His lips found her jaw and then, with a wicked quirk of his eyebrow he reached down for her thighs, and grabbing them he pulled them forwards, causing her to fall backwards as he pitched them both onto the bed. As she laughed he chuckled slightly before he kissed her again, and then it was a scramble to get out of his clothes as fast as he could before he fell back on top of his girl, his hands pulling up her camisole top, lips kissing at the spot just below her ear before he slid down her shorts, his mouth gently kissing a trail up from her belly through the middle of her breasts, up her neck and finally back to her mouth.

Fliss was utterly lost now, in the usual whirl of love, and lust and passion and kissed him back, hard as his hand gently dropped between her legs and he felt her slick against the tips of his fingers as he gently coaxed at her clit, continuing until she was nothing short of a writhing mess clawing at his back, aching for him. They locked eyes as he took her left hand in his, and slowly worked into her, both moaning simultaneously at the sensation, Fliss’s eyes rolling back at the exquisite stretch inside. Frank began to move his hips slowly, deeply, his thrusts weren’t measured in the slightest despite the fact he was absolutely aching for her. He wanted to take it slow, end what had been an amazing trip in the same mood it had started in, absolute pure love.

His mouth moved back to Fliss’s neck, nipping gently at her skin and she let out low moan as he picked up the pace ever so slightly, his spare hand kept hold of her hip, keeping her as close to him as she could possibly be.

“Fuck, Frank, right there…” she groaned as he hit her spot and he smirked slightly, he loved the way she got like this with him, ever so demanding at times, such a far cry from the timid woman he had fallen for the previous year.

“Yeah?” he panted as she gave a soft cry, her body tensing underneath him “Good.” “So good…” she moaned, arching her back. His mouth found hers again and his hand slid from her hip to gently tease her nipple and she rolled her hips to grind up against him, changing the angle slightly causing him to go deeper.

“Lissy…” he panted as he drove into her deeply, slowly, and then again and again, his pace increasing ever so slightly. Every single sense Frank possessed was on fire and he broke the long, lazy kiss that they were sharing to stifle a moan against her cheek when he felt her clench around him, a tell-tale sign she was nearing her release. The sheets rustled underneath and around them both as his hips pushed up against hers, and Frank saw Fliss’ head tip back, her throat bared to him in utter bliss as she came hard, her moans soft and breathy into his ear. Frank picked up his pace slightly, chasing his own end as he pushed her through hers, and when he felt that snake in his belly beginning to unravel, he gave a low grunt which morphed into a gasp as he clung to Fliss, spilling himself into her, his hips slowing to a stop as he collapsed forward. Fliss gave a soft chuckle as her hands gently slid up his back and into his hair, as she moved and pressed a soft kiss to his head.

“I know I keep saying it but I really do fuckin’ love you Cowgirl.” he said, voice muffled as his face pressed into her neck.

Fliss gave a chuckle “I’ll never tire of hearing it Sailor. “

He moved to look at her, flashing her a grin before he caught her mouth in a sweet kiss. **** "You still not managed it?" Greg asked as they stood at the bar, waiting for their drinks. Frank sighed and glanced at Fliss who was sat with Bonnie in the booth, the pair of them sniggering at something. "Do you see a ring on her finger?" He looked at Greg. "No" "Well there's your answer." "What's the hold up, man?" Greg frowned. "Nothing has felt right." Frank sighed "she won’t want a huge fuss in front of people so that basically ruled out all of New York...bar one moment when I thought it was time, in front of the tree at Rockefeller...and then some douchebag went and beat me to it, proposing to his girl whilst we watched..." "You're over thinking it." Greg said, looking at Frank "Take a step back. When are the pair of you at your best? The time you enjoy most, I mean" "Honestly?" Frank shrugged "at night when Mary's gone to bed and we finally sit down and just watch TV or joke around." "Well there you go." Greg shrugged "What, at home?" Frank frowned "Why not?" Greg looked at him "the point isn't to be showy or flashy but to show her you wanna spend the rest of your life with her." Frank pondered this for a moment. Greg has a point. They were at their happiest doing the simple things, spending quiet time together, being fucking normal. Fliss loved it when they curled up and Frank would simply cuddle her close and kiss her head, easy signs of affection that she had craved all through her wreck of a marriage. And Frank loved it too, because it made him feel grounded, time for him to simply be Frank in his own right, the very thing he used to use his Friday night drinking sessions for. Now he could feel it every night, thanks to Lissy…

And then, suddenly an idea came to him, out of nowhere.

Oh, it was perfect! "Greg..." he smiled, slapping the man on the back "you are a genius." "Glad I could be of service." Greg smirked "This means I get best man duty, right?"

Frank smirked at him, shrugging, not giving anything away. His eyes flicked back to Fliss who had now stood up, Simon having returned to the table sliding in next to Bonnie. Frank’s eyes travelled up her bare legs, from her high-heels up to the short little pink playsuit she was wearing, which was printed with black palm trees and other patterns, the small straps settling on her tanned shoulders, the front showing him just enough cleavage. She was wearing a black butterfly necklace that she had bought in New York and her hair was loose, falling over her shoulders in soft curls. Her brown eyes locked onto his and he smiled as he remembered the last Circle Of Truth Christmas outing the previous year, when he had told her he loved her for the first time. And here they were, now 5 days away from their second Christmas together.

“Hey beautiful” he smiled as she reached his side. His arm curled round her and he pressed a kiss to her cheek “You ok?” “Yeah, just thirsty.” she smiled. “Can I get a water as well as my gin please?”

“Sure…” he turned to look at the bar tender who was pulling their drinks together. Once he had attracted his attention and added a bottle of water to the order he turned back to her as Greg spoke up.

“Frank said you enjoyed New York.” “Oh, it was fantastic.” she smiled “Every bit as magical as I thought it was going to be.”

“Good, I’m glad you all had a good time.” Greg smiled “You deserved it after everything that went down.” “Yeah well, he’s banged up now. His brother is going to go down for Endangerment or whatever it is you call it, its’ done, it’s over.” Fliss smiled, “We got the rest of our lives ahead of us now.” “Well, if that doesn’t call for shots then I don’t know what does…” Greg smirked as the bar tender placed their drinks in front of them.

“No, Greg…” Fliss started to protest but Greg cut her off.

“Yes Greg!” he smirked, turning to the bar tender, “Can I get a bottle of Tequila pal and 8 glasses.” Fliss groaned “I’m teaching at 9 am!”

“Dumbass…” Greg looked at her and Frank gave a snort.

“I told you to switch them out…”

“I can’t!” she pouted “I already did for Boston and New York…” “Well…” Greg smirked as the bar tender set the bottle and glasses down in front of him “Looks like you’re doing it with a hangover honey.” “Fuck my life…” **** Fuck my life indeed. Fliss spent the following morning throwing up, groaning once more that she was never drinking tequila EVER again. Frank reminded her of how many times she had said that over the time he had known her and she’d simply let out a huge fake sob and thrown herself face down on the bed again declaring that she didn’t want to adult anymore as it sucked.

The days before Christmas passed in the usual chaos. Presents were wrapped and stashed under the tree, more drinks were had with Friends. Evelyn visited for a few days, which had actually almost pleased Frank a little. She wasn’t staying for Christmas, her arrangements having already been made, but she had hinted that maybe next year she could, to which Frank and Fliss had both agreed. She had been taken with Mary’s gift to her and had laughed out loud when Bill and Verity had presented her with a case of Malbec, the same Malbec she’d smashed a bottle of over John’s head. Her gifts to them both had been a substantial chunk of money, in the thousands, and when Frank had protested at the amount on the cheque she had waved it off as 8 years of owed presents. Mary’s was wrapped so it was placed under the tree for Christmas morning. Evelyn headed back to Boston on the morning of Christmas Eve, Frank and Mary driving her to the airport instead of her driver, where they had both bid her a Happy Christmas and waved her goodbye as she headed off to spend it with her friends in Newton.

After the final preparations were made Frank, Fliss and Mary collapsed onto the sofa for a Marathon of Christmas Films. Mary was, as usual, excited and the copious amounts of chocolate and candy she was shovelling down weren’t helping either, but what the hell, it was Christmas after all.

"You ok?" Frank glanced at Fliss as she sat on the other side of the couch. Love Actually was playing, the final film of the evening before Mary went to bed. Fliss, however didn't look like she was paying attention. "Huh?" She looked at him, blinking. "I said are you ok? You look like you were miles away"

“Yeah, sorry, I was errr…just running through things in my head, making sure nothing was forgotten.” Frank smiled. They were hosting Verity and Bill tomorrow as Steven and his family were at his wife’s parents for this year, flying out instead of the 28th to spend New Year’s with them all. Fliss had asked Frank if they could host, as she’d never had the chance to do that before and of course he had agreed, not least because of the excited look on her face when she had asked.

“The table is set, food and everything is ready to go…” he chuckled, looking at her “Just relax…”

He reached round Mary, his hand gently rubbing at Fliss’ back and she smiled at him, turning her attention to the TV.

20 minutes or so later the film finished and Mary jumped up, grabbing Frank’s hand to make him dance to God Only Knows as the final closing scenes played out. He smiled and picked her up, resting her on his hip as he twirled her round to the song, the pair of them laughing before he eventually dropped her down and told her it was bed time. She scooted off, Fred trotting behind her, his tail swishing as she skipped and Frank headed in about 5 minutes later to tuck her in, before he came back to the living room.

“She wants you to go and say goodnight.” he smiled,

Fliss nodded and stood up.

“You sure you’re ok?” Frank asked.

“Yeah, honestly, I’m just tired.” she assured him. Giving him a kiss she headed up the hall and Frank watched her go before he smiled to himself, and set about quickly putting the last touches to his plan.

She came back about 10 minutes later and he smiled at her as she walked into the room.

“OK, now she’s out of the way…I got something for you...” Frank smiled.

Fliss looked at him before she shook her head, chuckling a little “I got something for you too…Frank, I have-” “Me first.” Frank cut her off.

She looked at him for a second, his bright blue eyes were shining as he grinned at her and she rolled her eyes.

“Fine…” she smiled, “Ok, you first.” He grinned and then folded his arms “You gotta find it.” “What?”

“It’s hidden, on the tree, and you gotta find it.” Her face lit up as she gave a laugh “You are such a dork!” “Yeah, I know…” Narrowing her eyes playfully she moved to the tree, glancing at it. “Ok so it’s not very big then, seeing as I can’t see it straight away.” Frank shrugged as she continued her search.

“I haven’t put it high up, seeing as you’re a short ass…” “I’m perfectly average for a woman thank you.” “Trust me baby girl, nothing about you is average.” he winked and she let out a snort.

“Charmer.” she grinned, turning back to the tree.

“Ok, you’re miles off…” he said, and she moved to her right “Gettin’ warmer…warmer…ok, yep, nearly there…” Fliss continued to search, and then something caught her eye. There was something shiny handing from the nose of her Doe ornament. She stepped forward slightly, and when she realised what it was her right hand flew to her mouth. Frank’s breath caught in his throat as she spun to face him, her eyes wide.

"You, me and Mary have been hanging out together since August last year now...” he said, clearing his throat slightly “How do you feel about hanging with us forever?" He watched, holding his breath as Fliss' chest heaved with emotion as she looked at him, those brown eyes he could happily stare at all day were full of tears, the hand which had flown to her mouth in surprise was now shaking as it slid to the spot beneath her throat, that dip in her neck that he could nuzzle at forever. "I'll hang with you for as long as you'll have me..." she whispered, taking a deep breath. "Is that a yes?" Frank inhaled sharply and a watery laugh burst through her tears. "Yes. Yes, a thousand times yes!" Frank's face split into a huge grin "shit..." he sputtered before she threw herself into his arms and he lifted her up easily, her legs wrapping around his waist as he held her close, kissing her neck. She pulled back and placed a kiss to his lips, long and short pecks being shared as she laughed and he laughed, the pair of them simply lost in the moment until eventually he set her down and with a shaking hand he reached out to retrieve the ring from where it was hanging. Taking her left hand in his, with a deep breath he slipped the diamond onto her finger.

Fliss looked at it, admiring the way the delicate band sat underneath her knuckle, the beautiful diamond twinkling in the lights of the tree.

"Oh Frankie...it’s gorgeous..." she whispered, before she looked at him, taking his face in both his hands and pulling him down for a deep kiss. "I love you so much."

"I love you too." He smiled, kissing her again before he pulled away, his hands linking behind her back. 

"I err, got us some champagne." He smiled, "I know it was presumptive of me but figured we could have it tomorrow if you turned me down." Fliss looked up at him, blinking before she took a deep breath “First I need to get you…just wait here…” He released her from his hold and she turned and headed out of the room, Frank watched her go, blinking for a moment before he shrugged and headed to the fridge, the smile still plastered on his face. She said yes! 

Not that he had doubted she would, not really, but there had always been that little bit of fright she may have done. But that was all gone now. As he popped the cork on the bottle he found himself thinking about how he would be doing that soon enough on his wedding day. He poured 2 glassed and headed into the living room with them wondering if maybe a late Autumn wedding next year would be nice, October perhaps when it started to cool off slightly. They could do the beach wedding she always wanted, hire a marquee... Lost in his thoughts completely he jumped a little when Fliss spoke his name and turned to look at her as she stood in front of him, the back of his thighs brushing against the sofa slightly. He noticed her hand was in her pocket, clutching something. Playfully he nodded towards it “I assume that’s not a spanner." He chuckled, referencing the joke they often shared and Fliss shook her head, biting her lip. "No it’s a bit bigger than that" With a shaky hand she pulled out a small, white stick of plastic and held it towards him. It took Frank a moment to understand what it was and as soon as he did his eyes widened and he looked at her, then it, then back again.

"You're...we're...no!." he stuttered, reaching out to take it from her. "I found out this morning." Fliss whispered, watching his reaction carefully "I suspected last week but thought it might all be down to stress and stuff but..." "How, I mean..." "I should have started a new pill packet when we went to Boston but I forgot to take it with me. I thought I'd be ok if I started as soon as I got back but..." "There's a baby in there?" Frank cut her off as he stumbled over his words, nodding to her stomach "Yeah" Fliss nodded. "You put it there." Frank's legs grew shaky and he dropped onto the sofa, staring down at the test in his hands.

2 blue lines. 2 blue lines that had just changed his world forever. "I'm sorry, I know this is sudden and I should have been more careful..." Fliss took a tentative step towards him and he reached out, his hands on either side of her hips, gently pulling her t-shirt up. He leaned forward and placed a soft kiss to her belly, his forehead resting just above her navel. "I'm gonna be a dad." he pulled back, his eyes watering. "Frankie, you already are." Fliss said, her own tears once more springing forth. "I know you hate it when I say that about Mary but it's true." He looked at her, a dazed smile split his face into two as he pulled her onto his lap, where she straddled him, and he kissed her, hard, leaving her slightly breathless before he rest his forehead against hers. "Fuck, Lissy." he whispered, his eyes closed "You're cooking a little person..." She spluttered a laugh, nodding, her forehead brushing his as she did. "Was it made in Boston...is that the right word?" He pulled back to look at her and she laughed, brushing her hand through his fluffy hair as his gently reached out to rest against her stomach. "Yeah and most likely." "It's a little Boston Bean" he grinned and she laughed again, pressing her lips to his. "You're ok with it then? I know it's probably not what you would have planned but..." "Ok? Of course I'm ok!" He smiled "I love you and the thought of us making a little person that's half me, half you...fuck, it's amazing." She smiled and nodded, her voice a whisper "I know..."

"There is one problem." Franks said, his arms wrapping tightly around her. "What?" "You just ruined Christmas forever...because nothing is ever gonna live up to this ever again."

****** Fliss, Frank and Mary’s adventure continues in RIDING ON

[theoriginalcarnivorousmuffin]

Who do you think is the most incompetent character in Canon HP? I think it's Fudge or Lockhart, but then again they're only incompetent in SOME areas. So, what do you think?

Oh my god, there are so many contenders.

I feel like this is almost every single character. We’re talking Harry who only seems to accomplish his goals by divine luck. We’re talking Umbridge whose methods are so ridiculous I can’t even imagine what she imagines the outcome of her actions will be. We’re talking Lockhart (though I’m not actually sure incompetence is the right word, it’s more that he’s so drowning in narcissism he can’t even recognize his abilities, Lockhart is a wonder). Fudge, for obvious reasons...

I’m not even sure where to begin with this, really.

I guess I have to go with Fudge just because his incompetency is not only a near constant but it’s also often nearly lethal on a catastrophic level. 

Just, god, Fudge, you are a wonder.

Let’s start with Sirius’ breakout from Azkaban.

Fudge panics and thus causes the population to panic. Advertisements are being run by the hour, Sirius Black’s face is on every newspaper page. This is in a society where dropping the very name Voldemort sends the population into fits of terror. Fudge could very easily have inspired riots and then gone and joined the riots himself because Sirius broke out of Azkaban. I am mildly surprised that Diagon Alley wasn’t completely in flames by the time Harry got there. And this is on the competent end for Fudge.

We have Fudge running advertisements on the Muggle television. Now, I’m sure somebody told Fudge this was a brilliant idea. It even sounds like a good idea if you don’t think about it much: this way he can’t even hide in the muggle world. The trouble is what if somebody looks into this? Sirius Black is being mentioned every hour in the muggle media? What high security prison did he come from? What crime did he commit? Did Fudge even bother to make up a fake muggle history for this fake muggle murderer he just made up? Remember, the coverup for the muggles Sirius supposedly murdered was a gas leak, so Sirius can’t be blamed for that. I expect some muggles started asking questions and either the obliviators had to work overtime, Fudge got lucky, or a more insidious but likely answer is that the wizarding world didn’t even notice that they had dropped the ball. They’re so secure in their belief that they have the statute under control, that muggles are inherently gullible and stupid, that one day the statute of secrecy will break without them even knowing.

Fudge then loses Harry Potter. How does he manage this? Harry walks out the door of his muggle home and steps onto a bus. I imagine this nearly gave Fudge a heart attack but the fact was that no one had told Harry to stay there, Harry wasn’t aware that there was even any danger, and there was nothing at all preventing him from doing it. The kid calls the goddamn Night Bus and steps right up on board. Fudge’s solution of what to do with Harry later? He tells Harry to stay in the Leaky Cauldron, doesn’t even assign him a minder, just has him stay there. Good lad, please don’t die.

Fudge then sends soul eating demons who nobody understands to Hogwarts in case Sirius Black might show up to ‘protect the children’. Within only a few hours on the train one student, Harry Potter at that, passes out from dementor exposure. Fudge is convinced he can control these things. The dementors show up to a quidditch match. Fudge is so unbelievably lucky that half the Hogwarts population wasn’t eaten. Fudge, however, is so incompetent and short sighted he doesn’t even realize he’s lucky. Of course the dementors listen to the ministry! He’s the minister of magic! To top this, the dementors aren’t even effective, they fail to catch Sirius Black. 

Also, a smaller thing of Fudge but very in character, Harry learns about Sirius Black through the world’s most contrived means. He happens to be hanging out in Hogsmeade where he’s not supposed to be, hiding under Ron and Hermione’s table, and Fudge drops by. Fudge then loudly says, “Ah, Rosmerta, random barmaid! Have I told you all about the time Sirius Black was responsible for the murder of Harry Potter’s parents? No? WELL SIT RIGHT DOWN” This isn’t quite as bad as murdering all the children, but it’s pretty ridiculous.

But hey, Fudge was there to almost murder a hippogriff who attacked Malfoy’s son? I mean, it escaped, but... FUDGE DOES THINGS!

Later, fifth year, he runs the smear campaign against Harry Potter. Now, running a smear campaign against a fifteen-year-old is a shitty thing to do but that’s not why it’s incompetent. It’s incompetent because he goes all out. Actively calling Harry Potter, beloved savior of the nation, a narcissistic liar just gives him credence. It’s too strong and it only works (not even for the full population at that) because people are so terrified of Voldemort they’d accept this Rita Skeeter tabloid madness rather than face that again. As it is, Harry has his interview in the Quibbler, which is basically the National Inquirer, AND PEOPLE READ IT. THAT’S INSANE. YOU FAILED FUDGE. YOU FAILED SO HARD. 

A better plan would have been to acknowledge Harry had been through a traumatic event. Cedric somehow died in the tournament, Harry has lived all his life with this crushing expectation he’s defeated the dark lord, Harry probably watched this happened and is in such traumatized shock he believes Voldemort did it. Worse, Dumbledore probably convinced Harry somehow that Voldemort had done it, and Harry not knowing what happened and trusting his headmaster agreed. This would have been far more effective. 

But Fudge is panicking. So he goes even more ridiculous than a smear campaign led by Rita Skeeter (which, of all the people to pick, you choose her?) 

He sets loose Delores Umbridge. Umbridge’s first brilliant plan is to send dementors to a muggle neighborhood. What was the outcome of this? Was Harry Potter supposed to be terrified into silence? Was the entire muggle neighborhood supposed to be eaten? Was Harry Potter, savior of the wizarding world who had just claimed Voldemort had returned, supposed to be assassinated without people thinking Voldemort did it? Seriously, I’ve turned this over in my head, and I have no idea what the ideal outcome here was supposed to be. Just that Umbridge is nuts.

As it is, the best thing for them happens, Harry Potter stops it and is put on trial. Except then they get accused of somehow losing track of dementors. They try to brush this away with there being no witnesses and Harry being insane but then Mrs. Figg shows up. So, either the ministry is so incompetent that soul eating demons are roaming the country or the ministry just tried to assassinate Harry James Potter, the boy who lived. Fudge saves himself by going, “Oh gee, look at the time, case dismissed.”

Despite Umbridge having gone completely mad and unhinged, Fudge sends her to Hogwarts. There she tortures students, presumably to silence them, but again it just gives Harry Potter credence. Why is Umbridge trying so hard to silence these people? She directly fuels Harry Potter building a seeming guerilla army of school children planning a coup of Fudge in Dumbledore’s name. It’s Fudge’s worst nightmare. More, she actively sabotages the education of an entire generation, students actually drop out of school. And then she fails to do the one thing she went to Hogwarts to do: silence Harry Potter.

Then, of course, Fudge finds out the ministry is lousy with spies, Voldemort really is back, and he just has to stand there and go, “Welp, guess I’m fired.” Yes, Fudge, you’re fired.

In short, I can’t think of a single action he takes that is in any way competent. More, nearly every action he takes could have very easily resulted in dozens of deaths.